Pilgrim Hall Museum and the Plymouth Antiquarian Society will co-host a free virtual program on Thursday, March 24 at 6:30 pm. “Fact & Myth: Dorothy May Bradford Remembered” will feature presentations by two scholars who explore the impact of literature and film on our understanding of 17th-century women’s history.
Dr. Stacey Dearing, Teaching Assistant Professor of English at Siena College in Loudonville, NY, will discuss how Dorothy May Bradford’s death in December 1620 has been represented in pop culture. Using National Geographic’s 2015 miniseries Saints & Strangers as a case study, Dr. Dearing argues for the importance of telling Bradford’s story — and those of all the women of the Mayflower — while also clearly demarcating facts from myths.
Dr. Kari Miller, Professor of English at Georgia State University’s Perimeter College in Atlanta, will discuss the influential Pilgrim fiction of American author Jane Goodwin Austin (1831-1894). Dr. Miller will focus on the story “William Bradford’s Love Life” to explore the ways Austin used fact, fiction, and speculation in her work and how that impacted not only her legacy, but also American culture.
The audience will have the opportunity to ask questions following the presentations, which introduce themes that will be explored in Pilgrim Hall Museum’s upcoming 2022-2023 exhibition, REAL/MYTHIC: Revisiting Early Plymouth From Mayflower to the First Thanksgiving.
This program will be presented via Zoom webinar. To register, click here.
A recording will be made available on the hosts’ websites following the event. For more information, contact director@plymouthantiquarian.org or donna.curtin@pilgrimhall.org.
