Partner Programs

One of America’s most preeminent historians, Joanne B. Freeman—a leading expert on the nation’s early formation, Yale University professor, award-winning author, and consultant for the Broadway musical Hamilton—will speak in person in Anchorage and Fairbanks on May 21–22. In Anchorage, Freeman will challenge the common belief that the nation’s founding was inevitable, instead framing it as a series of large-scale improvisations shaped by uncertainty, much like today; in Fairbanks, she will examine how revolutions divide societies, forcing individuals to take sides for complex and sometimes unpredictable reasons, while also revealing unexpected common ground. Freeman, whose latest book The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to the Civil War was named a New York Times Notable Book, brings timely insight as the U.S. approaches its 250th anniversary. Her visit is part of the Alaska Historical Society’s Critical Issues Lecture Series, co-sponsored by the Cook Inlet Historical Society, the University of Alaska Anchorage and Fairbanks, and the Alaska World Affairs Council, with support from the Atwood Foundation, JL Hospitality Management, and the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read program; all events are free, open to the public, and available online.