Preview of American Material Culture and Why It Matters

Tickets now on sale for three-part Zoom webinar

March 31, April 7 and 14

WETHERSFIELD – Connecticut historian and preservationist William Hosley will present American Material Culture and Why It Matters, a three-part Zoom webinar, March 31, April 7 and 14 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tickets are now on sale for all three lectures in the series.

History and memory are traditionally made from written record: letters, government documents, newspapers, diaries, account books and more. These are the primary tools of historians, but they are not the only tools. Cultural material - art, architecture, artifacts, and archaeology - also preserve and reveal the shape of time. They are living remnants of the past that raise questions and cover aspects of the past not easily found in the written record. The lives of ordinary people, workers, women, the enslaved, children, craftsmen, artists, rural people, real people (and not just movements), soldiers, etc. Many objects have back stories that are riveting, suggestive, authentic, personal, and grounded in the places and times when they were made. This fascinating series will include an introduction to American Material Culture, American Chairs-A History, and It's All Greek to Me-An Appreciation.

William Hosley is a historian, preservationist, writer, and photographer. He was formerly director of the New Haven Museum and Connecticut Landmarks, where he cared for a chain of house museums. Prior to that, as a curator and exhibition developer at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Mr. Hosley organized The Great River: Art & Society of the Connecticut Valley, The Japan Idea: Art and Life in Victorian America, and Sam & Elizabeth: Legend and Legacy of Colt's Empire - a project that spawned the Coltsville National Park.

Mr. Hosley is writing a book about the public work of local history and how it restores public spirit one great place at a time. He has been a thought leader in the placemaking and #LearnLocal movements and served on the advisory committee of the Connecticut State Office of Culture & Tourism.

Tickets for each individual American Material Culture and Why It Matters webinar are $10 for Museum and NSCDA-CT members and $12 for the general public. All lectures will be presented on Zoom. For more information and to register, visit https://webb-deane-stevens.org/category/current-new-events/ or call 860-529-0612.