“The 19th Century World of Mary Baker Eddy”

Panelists Offer Insights into Mary Baker Eddy’s World

On June 4, 2002, the Library hosted a special forum panel moderated by Jim Albins, manager of program development at The Mary Baker Eddy Library, and featuring four noted panelists:

• Harvard professor Ann Braude on women’s legal and social status in the nineteenth century
• Penn State Medical School professor David Hufford on spirituality and science in the nineteenth century
• Publishers Weekly editor Phyllis Tickle on religious book publishing in the nineteenth century
• Professor Allen Weinstein on the political and social trends of the nineteenth century.

After each panelist spoke, Lesley Pitts, manager of the archives at The Mary Baker Eddy Library, presented a document from the Mary Baker Eddy Collections and commented on how the historical context provided by the panelists shed new light on the document and on Mary Baker Eddy’s life.

As panel moderator, Albins noted that “when we attempt to view events and people in the context of their own times, not only do they become more real and more complex, they also transcend their time to become more relevant to us, teaching us about our own lives and times.”

To watch a streaming video of the event, please click one of the links below. A transcript of the program is also available.