How early New Yorkers experienced the American Revolution and began to think of themselves as American was profoundly shaped by their understanding of gender in the 18th century. From the quiet tea table at home to violent street protests, from Indigenous peoples' trade in early European settlements to petitions to the Crown, from military enlistment before the Declaration to pension petitions after the war, men and women understood their rights and responsibilities as American citizens shaped by how they thought about gender. In this talk based on a new book in progress, Dr. Maeve Kane (University at Albany, SUNY) will discuss how gender shaped the experience of the American Revolution for Black, white, and Indigenous families in this pivotal time for our nation's history.
Maeve Kane is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of History at the University at Albany. Her first book, Shirts Powdered Red: Haudenosaunee Gender, Trade and Exchange Across Three Centuries with Cornell University Press, uses digital social network analysis, material culture, and Indigenous studies methods to argue that Haudenosaunee women used clothing to protect their nations’ sovereignty. She is the co-author of a new textbook on American women’s history in addition to several articles on material culture, women's history, and Indigenous history. Her current project examines how objects are used to express ideas about race, gender, and nationhood in commemorations of the American Revolution. Her work has been supported by the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the New-York Historical Society, and the New York State Archives, and she is a member of the Organization for American Historians Distinguished Lecturer program.
$8 General Access
$5 Discounted Access
This program will be recorded, access to which will be shared with all registrants the following day.
This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.