Humanities Lectures
Admission FREE — Reservations Required:
info@pontine.org / 603-436-6660
Wednesday, March 27 @2pm — Mary Baker Eddy:
New Hampshire’s Most Important Religious Thinker
presented by Nicole Ruane
Mark Twain called Mary Baker Eddy “the most interesting woman that ever lived and the most extraordinary.” The church she founded, The Church of Christ, Scientist, profoundly affected both American ideologies as well as public opinion of the role of women in society. This program discusses the ways in which Eddy’s experience as a woman in Victorian-era America influenced her understanding of God as well as the nature of humanity, the body, health, and the place of women in powerful organizations. Eddy’s rejection of medicine stemmed from encounters with nineteenth century physicians that she felt were demeaning. Eddy instead advocated self-empowered healing, a perspective that has much in common with later views of positive psychology and the power of the mind over the body.
Thursday, April 25 @2pm — The Mammoth Road: New Hampshire
Folk Tales as an Avenue to Local History and Culture
presented by Erin Moulton
Folk tales are passed from one generation to another, embellished by time and teller. Yet, when we look at folk tales, the people who compiled them and the location from which they spring, we can access history in a new and entertaining way. Join us to hear and explore folk tales collected by the New Hampshire Women’s Federation (1932) and dig into local resources in search of truths. Was it tall tale or town history?
1845 Plains School, One Plains Avenue, Portsmouth NH
Funded by a grant from New Hampshire Humanities
