We are excited to be trying something new this year – a Wilson Museum-inspired book discussion series.
There are all sorts of great books out there that can be connected to our museum and mission in some way – from how we think about museums, to encountering more about the cultures and objects we share through our exhibits, to fun ways to explore history. And rather than just read and think about these on her own, Executive Director Julia Gray wants to invite you all to read and talk about some of these books with her! The discussions will be offered both in-person and on Zoom.
Check out the listing below for what’s to come in the series. Join us for one or join for all.
Wilson Museum 2024 Book Discussion Series:
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We are going to start out with Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians). In this novel, Boulley tells the story of Perry Firekeeper-Birch, an Anishinaabe girl who is tackling both the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women and the role that museums and collectors have played in taking Indigenous ancestors and their belongings out of the community. Warrior Girl Unearthed offers a powerful way to frame the repatriation and decolonization work that the Wilson Museum is undertaking.
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Our second book will be Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art by Rebecca Wragg Sykes. Sykes, a British archaeologist who has studied Neanderthals for decades, offers a deep dive into the 21st century science and understanding of these ancient relatives, receiving recognition both from within the field and from the wider press – both the Book of the Year 2021 by Current Archaeology and one of 2021's 100 Notable Books by The New York Times, just to note two. It is exciting for us to learn how our understanding of Neanderthals has changed since John Howard Wilson gathered numerous examples of their stone tools for his growing collection in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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In our third book, we dive into the fascinating world of the Museum of Jurassic Technology through Mr. Wilson's Cabinet Of Wonder by Lawrence Weschler. Pronged ants, horned humans, a landscape carved on a fruit pit – some of the displays in David Wilson’s Museum of Jurassic Technology are hoaxes. But which ones? As he guides readers through an intellectual hall of mirrors, Weschler revisits the 16th century “wonder cabinets” that were the first museums and compels readers to examine the imaginative origins of both art and science. And while definitely not as ironic as David Wilson’s museum, John Howard Wilson’s museum has its own fascinating connections to the early cabinets of curiosity. For this discussion we will be joined by Dru Colbert, an exhibit designer and artist who is on the faculty of College of the Atlantic where she teaches students about the history of museums, among other topics.
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For our final discussion of the year, we will take a fun approach to the topic of the American Revolution, as we start thinking about the 250th anniversary of this pivotal event in our history. We will be joined by local social media influencer @allisonshank, the creator of the Instagram and Facebook account @cocktalebooks to explore the Revolution through historical romance. We are still researching books, so stay tuned for details, but as I was looking through the world of Revolutionary War fiction, it quickly became clear that historical romances were a big part of this, and many of the books that centered women’s stories fell into this genre. Allison also promises to bring perspectives on how romance fiction has changed over time, and how it might offer intriguing ways of looking at the past.
Books can be purchased at Compass Rose Books or borrowed through Witherle Memorial Library. The discussions are free, but we ask that you register so the folks at Compass Rose know how many books to order. Register with us using the button below.