Newberry Adult Education Seminars will meet both virtually and in the building for the Winter/Spring term. Although we are still primarily virtual, you will find a smaller selection of in-person seminars in the schedule. For more information about the Newberry’s virtual seminars, including a Zoom tutorial, please see our Virtual Seminars FAQ page. If you have questions about online learning, please reach out to adulteducation@newberry.org. Registration opens Wednesday, January 19th at 9am (Central time). Registration will take place through our online platform, Learning Stream.

Register via Learning Stream here

Seminar Description

Explore Chicago history through one of its most iconic residents: Lucy Parsons. An outspoken anarchist, wife of Haymarket martyr Albert Parsons, and co-founder of the International Workers of the World, Lucy Parsons’ life spanned decades of profound change in Chicago and the United States. This seminar will chart the evolution of radical labor activism in the city from the eight-hour movement of the 1880s through the Great Depression of 1930s, centering the words of Lucy Parsons, virtually visiting the spaces she frequented, and contextualizing her activism within the broader historical forces transforming the city and nation.

Four sessions. Registration – $170/$153

Rachel Boyle, PhD, is a historian, consultant, and co-founder of Omnia History, a public history collaborative dedicated to using the past to promote social change.

Materials List

Required:

• Instructor-Distributed Materials.

First Reading:

• Please read the provided PDF for the first session, which includes two brief pieces by Lucy Parsons as well as an excerpt from Jacqueline Jones' biography of Parsons (Goddess of Anarchy).