2010
Ongoing this month:
Special Events
Feb. 3
Monticello opens at noonMonticello opens at noon on Wednesday, February 3, 2010, due to wintry conditions.
Feb. 9
Cancelled - Talk: 'A Republic Amidst the Stars'Eran Shalev, assistant professor in the history department of Haifa University, Israel, will trace the transformation in revolutionary America of a traditional early modern political reading of the cosmos from one that read astronomical observations as justifying monarchy and customarily likened kings to dominating suns, into a republican language, which depicted starry constellations as systems characterized by equality and egalitarian harmony. The consequent representations of the United States as a "new constellation" of states-stars, as a system of elegantly and harmoniously orbiting planets, attests to the vigor and significance of this novel republican mode of political astronomy. The talk, part of the ICJS's Distinguished Lecture Series, is preceded by a reception at 3:30 p.m. and begins at 4 p.m. at Monticello's Jefferson Library. The event is free, but space is limited. Please e-mail to register.
Feb. 9
Monticello CLOSED due to wintry conditionsMonticello will be closed, Tuesday, Feb. 9 2010, due to inclement weather in the forecast.
Feb. 10
Fellows Forum: "Our Anglo-Saxon Ancestors"Jessica Lorraine Walker, Ph.D., University of Western Australia, will talk about Thomas Jefferson's use of English history as an aid to separating an American nation from the British Empire. Dr. Walker contends Jefferson saw in Anglo Saxon studies a means for appropriating those parts of English history that could underpin a national identity defined by freedom, initiative, and perhaps a racial predilection for democracy, while simultaneously rejecting Britain’s authority in his present. Jefferson’s comprehensive survey of Old English grammar, language, law and emigration provided him with a precedent for revolution and helped him develop a model of American nationhood. 4 p.m. at Monticello's Jefferson Library. The talk is free, but space is limited. Please e-mail to register.
Feb. 11
Lecture/performance: Calvin EarlMusic historian and recording artist Calvin Earl will interpret African-American spirituals at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 11, in Monticello's Jefferson Library. Free. Information: (434) 984-9822.
Offered as part of Monticello's observance of Black History Month.
Feb. 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28
Plantation Community ToursThese guided outdoor tours focusing on the experiences of the enslaved people who lived and labored on the Monticello plantation will begin at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in February plus Presidents Day (Monday, Feb. 15). Included in price of admission.
Feb. 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28
Answering the Bell: Working in the House at MonticelloThese guided tours of the house will highlight the experiences of enslaved men and women who worked in the Monticello household. Noon and 2 p.m. every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in February plus Presidents Day (Monday, Feb. 15). Included in price of admission; register at the Dominion Welcome Pavilion. More information »
Offered as part of Monticello's observance of Black History Month.
Feb. 18
Fellow's Forum: Association and Autonomy in the Early American RepublicKevin Butterfield, Ph.D. candidate in history at Washington University in St. Louis, looks at changing conceptions of individual membership in the voluntary groups – religious, fraternal, profit-seeking, professional, and reform societies – that were formed in unprecedented numbers in the post-Revolutionary era. In the practical, day-to-day experiences of membership in these associations, a revolutionary idea evolved, unsteadily, as people began to insist upon basic principles of procedural fairness within the associations: the idea that people carried rights into every social relationship. By examining Thomas Jefferson's conceptions of membership in churches as well as in agricultural and mutual-aid societies, there is an opportunity to see Jefferson and other joiners feeling their way toward a conception of voluntary membership well suited to a new republic, one defined by law, delimited in its obligations, and balanced in its rights and duties. The talk begins at 4 p.m. at Monticello's Jefferson Library. The event is free, but space is limited. Please e-mail to register.
Feb. 20
Archaeology Workshop for ChildrenThis two-hour workshop for children in grades 4 through 7 accompanied by an adult provides a hands-on introduction to archaeology. It will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Feb. 20, in Monticello's Archaeology Lab. Free; advance registration required. Information: (434) 984-9880.
Offered as part of Monticello's observance of Black History Month.
Feb. 23
Fellows Forum: Jefferson, Enlightenment and Historical ConsciousnessMatthew Crow, Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of California-Los Angeles, examines Thomas Jefferson's practices of collecting, deconstructing and reassembling pieces of authoritative texts as an attempt to present the expansion of liberty as a linear, natural process. From the assembled common law jurisprudence of colonial Virginia, Crow follows Jefferson's experience and articulation of a fractured legal time into increasingly wider circles of thought, including constitutionalism, natural history, religion, and art. 4 p.m. at Monticello's Jefferson Library. The talk is free, but space is limited. Please e-mail to register.
For More Information: (434) 984-9822