Smithsonian and Monticello to Offer Webinar “Jefferson: Revolutionary Thinker” April 27

The Smithsonian Institution and Monticello will present the daylong webinar “Jefferson: Revolutionary Thinker” Friday, April 27, from 9:50 a.m. to 3:50 p.m. While developed for teachers and secondary school students, the webinar is free and open to the public; however, registration is required at smithsonianconference.org:

The Web conference schedule is:

9:50 – 10 a.m.: Introductions
Lonnie Bunch, director, National Museum of African American History and Culture
Leslie Greene Bowman, president, Monticello
Marc Pachter, interim director, National Museum of American History

10 – 10:50 a.m.: Revolution and Religion: The Views of Thomas Jefferson
Barbara Clark Smith, curator, Division of Political History, National Museum of American History
Harry Rubenstein, chair and curator, Division of Political History, National Museum of American History

11 – 11:50 a.m.: Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: Paradox of Liberty
Rex Ellis, associate director for curatorial affairs, National Museum of African American History and Culture
Elizabeth Chew, curator, Monticello

1– 1:50 p.m.: Mapping the West
David Allison, associate director for curatorial affairs, National Museum of American History Mark Hirsch, historian, National Museum of the American Indian

2 – 2:50 p.m.: Monticello: American Experiment
(webcasting from Monticello)
Elizabeth Chew, curator, Monticello
Bill Barker, Thomas Jefferson interpreter, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation  

3 – 3:50 p.m.: Getting Word: A Conversation with Descendants of the Enslaved at Monticello
Moderators:
Rex Ellis, associate director for curatorial affairs, National Museum of African American History and Culture
Dianne Swann-Wright, historian, The Getting Word Project, Monticello
Panelists:
Shannon Lanier, Karen Hughes White and Jacqueline Yurkoski—descendants of Monticello’s enslaved families

The Web conference is presented in conjunction with the exhibitions “Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: Paradox of Liberty,” on view through Oct. 14; the outdoor exhibition “Landscape of Slavery: Mulberry Row at Monticello,” on view indefinitely at Monticello in Charlottesville, Va.; and “Jefferson’s Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth,” through July 15. “Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello” and “Jefferson’s Bible” are on view at the National Museum of American History.

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SI-171-2012