Taking a Stand: The Perils of Revolution

Name: Taking a Stand: The Perils of Revolution
Start: 2026-05-22T17:30:00-08:00
Location: Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center

Schedule

Fri, 22 May, 2026 at 05:30 pm

UTC-08:00

Location

Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center | Fairbanks, AK

*Virtual link will be provided when available. RSVP "going" and you will be notified when it is posted.*
One of America’s most preeminent historians and a leading expert on our nation’s early formation, Joanne B. Freeman, will speak in person Fairbanks May 21 and 22. The author of numerous award-winning books and a consultant for the Hamilton Broadway musical, Freeman is a frequent guest in documentaries and a commentator on national media.
In Fairbanks, Freeman will discuss the ways in which revolutions are dividing moments, forcing people to take sides—sometimes for unpredictable reasons. Often, they expose the many ways in which a people aren’t divided. Freeman will explore what drove people apart as well as brought them together—a topic that speaks to the present day.
Freeman is the Alan J. Boles, Jr. Professor of History and American Studies at Yale University where she specializes in the politics and political culture of the revolutionary and early national periods of American history. Her most recent book, The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to the Civil War, explores physical violence in the U.S. Congress between 1830 and 1860 and what it suggests about American sectionalism. It was a New York Times Notable Book and one of the Smithsonian’s 10 best history books of the year.
Freeman’s Alaska presentations are especially timely as the nation pre-pares to mark its 250th anniversary next year. Her visit is part of the Alaska Historical Society’s multi-year Critical Issues Lecture Series designed to encourage Alaskans to learn about their history to improve public discourse.
Her Alaska programs are co-sponsored by the Cook Inlet Historical Society, University of Alaska Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska World Affairs Council and generously underwritten by the Atwood Foundation, JL Hospitality Management, and the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read program. Her presentations are free to the public and will be available online.