College Relations

June 22, 2004

Jim Glynn at 978-542-7519 or james.glynn@salemstate.edu

SALEM – Salem State College is one of 17 sites chosen from across the nation to host a series of Landmarks in American History workshops in July sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

In addition, the Hawthorne Society will host its annual conference at SSC to commemorate Hawthorne's bicentennial July 1 to July 4. With all but one session convening at Salem State College, the conference will feature presentations and events sponsored by The House of the Seven Gables, the Peabody Essex Museum, the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, and the Salem Athenaeum.

The Hawthorne program will begin at 5:30 p.m. on July 1 at the House of the Seven Gables, followed by a reception. On July 2, attendees can assemble at the Peabody Essex Museum, where Hawthorne exhibits will be on display. On July 3, there will be a walking tour of spots relevant to Hawthorne conducted by the Salem Maritime National Historic Site and a visit to the Custom House and Derby Wharf.

Beginning July 4, SSC hosts the workshop, "Salem, Massachusetts (1801-1861): National Culture, International Horizons," a series of four one-week, residence-based workshops that present an opportunity for summer graduate study. Although the workshops may appeal primarily to history teachers, the content would be appropriate for teachers of literature, art, geography, social studies, American studies, and other fields.

From its days as one of the earliest landing sites of the English colonists to its heyday as a thriving hub of American commerce and the home of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Salem's historical legacy is rich. Salem State College professors Patricia Johnston and Gayle V. Fischer will direct the workshops.

Primary sources of information are the diaries of William Bentley, minister of Salem's East Church and a noted scholar and linguist; the journals of Charlotte Forten, the first African American to attend and graduate Normal School in Salem, also the first northern African-American schoolteacher to go south to teach former slaves; the memoirs of Francis Peabody, a wealthy manufacturer with scientific and architectural interests; numerous speeches and letters of Horace Mann, often called the father of American public school education; and collections of sailors' writings.

For more information on the Hawthorne program, visit www.salemstate.edu/hawthorne or call Salem State College professor Pierre Walker at 978-542-6618. For more information on the history workshop sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, visit www.salemstate.edu/landmark or call Prof. Fischer at 978-542-6399.