Historians & Their Histories

On this episode of Historians & Their Histories, we sit down with Andy Colpitts, a PhD candidate in the Department of Performing and Media Arts at Cornell University. Andy tells us about "Old Home Days", a festival tradition established by New Hampshire Governor Frank Rollins at the turn of the twentieth century to welcome former residents back to rural New England. Andy discusses how these festivals, as well as the meaning of the term "nostalgia", have changed over time. We also hear how his training in the performing arts translates to the field of history.

Andy Colpitts is the recipient of a fellowship from the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-14-Colpitts

This episode uses materials from:

Colocate by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)

In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, we learn about an overlooked element of the textile industry in early American society. Emily Whitted, a PhD candidate at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, discusses the practice of mending and repair work on various textiles throughout eighteenth century America. Emily also discusses the similarities between and difficulties of using both material culture and manuscript pieces for this project.

Emily Whitted is a recipient of the Louis Leonard Tucker Alumni Fellowship from the MHS and a fellowship from the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-13-whitted

This episode uses materials from:

Colocate by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)

On this special episode of Historians & Their Histories, guest host Megan Kate Nelson interviews art historian Jacqueline Musacchio. Prof. Musacchio discusses her latest publication on the community of female artists living in nineteenth-century Italy, notably Francesca Alexander. We learn about Alexander's experience as an American artist living abroad during a period of rapid change. Prof. Musacchio also discusses the challenges of working in the field of art history today.

Prof. Musacchio is also the recipient of an Andrew Oliver Research Fellowship from the MHS.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-12-musacchio

This episode uses materials from:

Colocate by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)

In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, Wulfstan Scouller tells us about his research on the economic history of King Philip's War. Wulf discusses the novel ways that he is utilizing collections from the late seventeenth century held at the MHS, particularly by analyzing merchant records.

Wulf Scouller is also the recipient of a Samuel Victor Constant Fellowship from the Society of Colonial Wars in Massachusetts.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-11-scouller

This episode uses materials from:

Colocate by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)

In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, Ariel Silver tells us about female transcendental thought and its influence on other social movements of the nineteenth century. Prof. Silver highlights several collections held at the MHS that connect to reformers such as Margaret Fuller and Caroline Wells Healey Dall and their legacies.

She is the recipient of an Alyson R. Miller Fellowship from the MHS.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-10-Silver

This episode uses materials from:

Colocate by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)

In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, Brian Maxson discusses the research he is conducting at the Massachusetts Historical Society as a historian of the Italian Renaissance. He explains how a Renaissance-era manuscript made its way to the MHS and what it tells us about both Italian and United States history. Prof. Maxson also highlights how modern perceptions and identity shape the way we conceptualize the distant past.

He is the recipient of an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship from the MHS.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-9-Maxson

This episode uses materials from:

Colocate by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)

In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, Ariel J. Wilks-López discusses privateering in Early America. Her research examines how the public perception of privateers changed between the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Additionally, her work highlights how public memory of privateering affected strategy in the American Civil War.

She is the recipient of both a Military Historical Society of Massachusetts Fellowship from the MHS and a fellowship from the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-8-Wilks-Lopez

This episode uses materials from:

Colocate by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)

In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, Prof. James Hill makes the case for Native American agency and resiliency in an age of colonialist expansion. Whereas nineteenth century New Englanders propagated the idea that Native peoples simply disappeared from the region, Prof. Hill's research points to ways that tribes such as the Mashpee Wampanoag used legal means to push back against attempts to erase them from both society and regional history.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-7-hill

This episode uses materials from:

Colocate by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)

On this special episode of Historians & Their Histories, Megan Kate Nelson sits down with Michael Vorenberg to discuss how he entered the field of history. They also discuss Prof. Vorenberg's latest publication, Lincoln's Peace: The Struggle to End the American Civil War, available on March 18, 2025.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-6-vorenberg

This episode uses materials from:

Colocate by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)

In this episode of Historians & Their Histories, we sit down with Thomas Rider, a PhD Candidate and Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is also a recipient of the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati Fellowship at the MHS.

To learn more about MHS fellowships and how to apply, please visit this page.

Learn more about this episode here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/hath-episode-5-rider

This episode uses materials from:

Colocate by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)