Fear and Civil Liberties

On October 20, 2008, the Maine Humanities Council hosted a symposium entitled Fear, Civil Liberties, and the Rule of Law. The program began with an overview of the topic by Joel Rosenthal, President of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, and member of the Maine Humanities Council board. Rosenthal is a frequent lecturer and writer on ethics, U.S. foreign policy, and international relations.

The next speaker in the program was Jeff McCausland, U.S. Army Colonel (Retired) and Carnegie Council Senior Fellow. During his military career, McCausland served in a variety of command and staff positions both in the United States and Europe, including as Director for Defense Policy and Arms Control on the National Security Council Staff during the Kosovo crisis. He has published and lectured broadly on military affairs, European security issues, the Gulf War, and leadership throughout the United States and abroad.

The program concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Joel Rosenthal. Panelists Shenna Bellows (Executive Director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union), Paula Silsby (U.S. Attorney for Maine), and Steve Podgajny (Executive Director, Portland Public Library) explored what the pressure on civil liberties means for Americans.

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Blaine House

The Blaine House is the Governor’s residence in Augusta, Maine. At the 175th anniversary celebration of this historic house on August 16, 2008, historian Jo Radner interviewed some of its former residents and staff.

Do you have a story to tell about the Blaine House? We'd love to hear from you!

David Richards

David Richards earned his Ph.D. in History from the University of New Hampshire. His research for the 2006 book Poland Spring: A Tale of the Gilded Age (University Press of New England) forms the basis of this presentation at the Yarmouth Historical Society. Richards is the assistant director of the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan, Maine. He has also served as executive secretary of the Androscoggin Historical Society in Auburn, and curator of collections at the United Society of Shakers in New Gloucester.

Do you have a story about someone who stayed or worked at Poland Spring? David would love to hear it! Please leave it in the "Comments" section.

Moon Runner

School librarian Connie Burns of South Portland is a steadfast supporter of the Maine Student Book Award. Here, she presents one of the books on the list of contenders from the 2006-07 school year: Moon Runner by Carolyn Marsden (Candlewick, 2005). After Connie introduces the main character, Mina, then reads the first chapter and previews the rest of the story, it’ll be hard to resist finding a copy of the book at your library and finishing it. If you do, or if you've already read the book, leave your comments here!

Blue Hill Authors

Maine is home to many children’s authors and illustrators. Fans are usually only fortunate enough to see one at a time, but in July 2008, three of the best-known—Cynthia Voigt, Ruth Freeman Swain, and Rebekah Raye—appeared together at the Blue Hill Library. In this recording, they are introduced by Brook Ewing Minner, the library’s Assistant Director, who then leads a lively conversation among writers and artists and their audience. (For an interview with Cynthia Voigt, pictured at right, by Maine Humanities Council facilitator Annaliese Jakimides, see this Bangor Metro site.)

Eve LaPlante

Samuel Sewall, the only judge to publicly repent his decision to condemn twenty people to death as witches in 1692, is the subject of Eve LaPlante’s new biography, Salem Witch Judge: The Life and Repentance of Samuel Sewall (HarperOne, 2007). LaPlante counts Sewall as her sixth great-grandfather, a family connection that gave her access to rare documents not previously available. Through these documents, as well as Sewall’s extensive personal diaries and letters, she vividly recreates Sewall’s life and times. LaPlante is the author of two previous books, Seized (a multidisciplinary exploration of temporal lobe epilepsy) and American Jezebel (a biography of Anne Hutchinson), and essays for The Atlantic, the New York Times, Ladies’ Home Journal, Gourmet, and Boston.

Schair Memorial Lecture

The 2008 Douglas M. Schair Memorial Lecture on Genocide and Human Rights was a dialogue for Muslim-Jewish understanding, presented in cooperation with the Islamic Society of Portland and the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine. The featured speakers were Judea Pearl and Akbar Ahmed. Pearl, a computer scientist from Israel, and Ahmed, a social scientist from Pakistan, share a concern about the deterioration of relationships between Muslim and Jewish communities around the world. They have become partners in a dialogue project in memory of Pearl’s son, journalist Daniel Pearl, under the auspices of the Daniel Pearl Foundation. Through their public dialogue, they aim to inspire ongoing conversations in the communities they visit that are similarly honest and respectful. They were recognized for this project in 2006, with the first annual Purpose Prize.

The Schair Memorial Lecture took place at the University of Southern Maine on April 8, 2008. The Lecture Committee is already planning next year's lecture! Please leave your feedback here.