Shakers and Anti-Shakers (Virtual)

December 1, 2020 | 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Join us for a virtual program about the Shakers. In the antebellum nineteenth century, this new American nation was fertile ground for utopian ideas and dozens of inspired men and women offered blueprints for what they imagined to be an ideal way to live. In this presentation, we’ll examine one of the most popular of those visions, the beliefs and practices of the United Society of Shakers. Today the Shakers are admired today for their fine crafts and design aesthetic but two hundred years ago, their lifeways were a source of controversy and concern. To examine their ideas we’ll look at how the Shakers built their dream, with insight from one convert who saw Shaker life as a perfect utopia, and another convert who found it a troubling dystopia. And here’s the interesting point: they were married to each other.

Registration is Required.   Click Here to Register.  Or call 978-465-4428 x 242.  A link will be emailed to participants automatically. If you do not receive a link, please email info@newburyportpl.org or call 978-465-4428 x242.

Elizabeth DeWolfe, PhD will be presenting this program. Dr. DeWolfe is professor of history and co-founder of the women’s and gender studies program at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine. She teaches undergraduate courses in women’s history, in American culture, and on historical research and writing. Her books have received awards from the New England Historical Association, Northeast Popular Culture Association, the Communal Studies Association, ForeWord Magazine, and the Independent Publisher Book Awards. Her research projects have been supported by fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Kentucky Historical Society, and the Pew Program in Religion and History. She lives with her husband, a rare book and ephemera dealer, in Alfred, Maine.

This event will be held on Zoom. Register online by Registration is Required.  clicking here or by calling 978-465-4428 x 242. A link will be emailed to participants automatically. If you do not receive a link, please email info@newburyportpl.org or call 978-465-4428 x242.