Wednesday, March 1, 7 p.m.—RUTLAND—Historian and professor Woden Teachout will discuss the many benefits of studying history in a talk at the Rutland Free Library on March 1, 7 p.m. Her talk, “What We Learn When We Learn About History” is part of the Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays lecture series and is free and open to the public.
Henry Ford famously said, “History is more or less bunk.” Teachout will discuss why history does matter, exploring the intellectual skills and larger cultural understandings that come from studying the past.
Woden Teachout teaches in the Master of Arts program at Union Institute & University. She earned a PhD in American Studies from Harvard University, and has taught at Middlebury, Goddard, and Harvard. Her research centers on the way history shapes contemporary conversations, and she is especially interested in the intersection of historical memory, politics, and patriotism. She is the author of “Capture the Flag: A Political History of American Patriotism” and co-author of “Slow Democracy: Rediscovering Community, Bringing Decision Making Back Home.” She has won multiple teaching prizes, including the Alan Heimert Teaching Prize at Harvard and Union’s Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence.
The Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays series is held on the first Wednesday of every month from October through May in nine communities statewide, featuring speakers of national and regional renown. Talks in Rutland are held at Rutland Free Library unless otherwise noted. All First Wednesdays talks are free and open to the public.
Rutland Free Library is located at 10 Court Street, Rutland. For more information, contact Rutland Free Library at 802-773-1860, or contact the Vermont Humanities Council at 802-262-2626 or visit vermonthumanities.org.
Photo courtesy of Vt. Humanities Council
Historian and professor Woden Teachout will discuss why history matters, and the importance of studying the past.
