BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//360exp//Calendar//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:360exp REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6585fdf8-f9f8-4985-9ccd-f8e8dd83be75@360exp.net SEQUENCE:29837420 DTSTAMP:20260925T215346Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260924T102028Z DTSTART:20261029T160000Z DTEND:20261029T170000Z SUMMARY:2026 Sloan Lecture Series LOCATION:Erie Canal Museum DESCRIPTION:2026 Sloan Lecture SeriesWe offer lectures each month on a vari ety of topics. Our theme for 2026 is Rooted. Throughout its history\, the Erie Canal has been an agent of change and transformation. Through this le cture series we aim to explore the many facets of this transformative wate rway's history. We look forward to sharing these stories with you througho ut the year. All Sloan Lectures are available both in person and via Zoom. Everyone who registers will also receive a recording of the talk. Registe ring for the Annual Pass registers you for all talks for the remainder of the year\, as well as provides access to all previously recorded talks for the year.Thank you to the Winifred & DeVillo Sloan\, Jr. Family Fund for supporting this series.If you have difficulty registering please call 315- 471-0593 or email educator@eriecanalmuseum.orgCurrent Schedule of Lectures (more lectures and information will be added soon!)September 10 @ 12PM- C anals\, Conductors and the Empire State: an Ecohydrological Perspective on the Erie CanalFor thousands of years before Europeans set foot in what is now called Upstate NY\, Indigenous people traveled along the existing net work of rivers and lakes in the state. These people worked with the natura l flow regime (sometimes adding minor modifications such as fish weirs)\, based on different worldviews of water. These habitats in turn supported f ishes\, mussels\, turtles\, wild rice\, medicine plants\, and other beings critical to the Native diet and economy. Settler terraforming and enginee ring to canalize rivers and drain swamps destroyed many of the riparian an d instream habitats on which these plants and animals relied. This pattern of building US and NYS wealth from Indigenous lands at the expense of Ind igenous Nations continues today with the NYS Smart Innovation Corridor (ou r "Erie Canal moment").September 11 @ 6PM- Who Celebrated Sullivan-Clinton in 1929 and Why? The Lasting Legacy of the 150th AnniversaryThe Sullivan- Clinton Campaign of 1779 was a scorched earth mission that led to the burn ing of over 40 Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) settlements. Despite its grim feat ures\, settlers celebrated it with nearly 300 markers and monuments that s pan Pennsylvania and New York\, leading it to be possibly the most recogni zed Revolutionary War expedition nation-wide. A. Lynn Smith's book\, Memor y Wars\, exposes this vast commemorative complex for the first time. In he r book talk\, she will emphasize the celebration of Sullivan-Clinton in Ne w York in 1929\, considering the 150th anniversary projects in light of th e country's settler colonial foundations. She will conclude with thoughts on how we might grapple with this history -- and the lasting legacy of its commemoration in 1929 -- as its 250th anniversary approaches in 2029. Thi s event will be hosted at the Skä•noñh Great Law of Peace Center in pa rtnership with them\, Onondaga Historical Association\, and the Liverpool Public Library.October 29 @ 12PM- Fires along the Canals of CNYHear Madiso n County Historian Matt Urtz discuss stories of fires that took place alon g the canals of Central New York\, including one of the earliest photos to be credited as “photo journalism” in the U.S. Fires are covered from across the counties of Chenango\, Madison\, Oneida\, Onondaga and Oswego. Discover fascinating stories of destruction\, mayhem\, and how communities responded.November 12 @ 12PM- Short Stories Along the Genesee Valley Cana lTo sum up the Genesee Valley Canal in a word? Dramatic. The timing was te rrible. The route was ambitious: one of the highest canals in the world\, pinned to the side of a canyon\, along one of New York state’s most visi ted waterfalls. Then there were the people and their shovel-swinging\, whi skey-drinking\, religion-bringing\, gun-spinning stories. Join Environment al Educator Jules Hoepting from New York State Parks for this engaging tal k on one of New York's most enigmatic lateral canals.December 10th @ 12pm- 15 Miles on the Sacandaga Canal?This presentation will discuss the succes sful construction of the Erie Canal and the subsequent “canal craze” t hat sparked the idea of a great Sacandaga Canal. Discover the efforts of t he Sacandaga Valley to expand their commercial reach as they sought to dra w raw goods and resources from throughout the Adirondack Mountains down to the Mohawk Valley and Erie Canal.--Previous Lectures- Please note that re gistering for an Annual Pass gives you access to recordings of all previou s lecturesJanuary 15 @ 6:30 PM- The Making of Flower City: The Erie Canal \, American Empire\, and the Horticultural Transformation of the CountryBo rn of the Erie Canal\, Rochester\, New York exploded from a small village into a boomtown. Developing into a prominent hub for flour-milling\, Roche ster was an icon of America’s market revolution. But when the Panic of 1 837 struck the region\, the economic foundations of the city collapsed. In the wake of collapse a new group of horticulture reformers sought to refo rm the city\, region\, and their residents. By the middle of the decades o f the nineteenth century\, they city became home to a group of plant nurse rymen and seed dealers whose transnational reach remade the North American landscape and transformed Rochester from the Flour City into the Flower C ity.January 28 @ 7PM- Sloan Lecture- 2025 & 2026 Erie Canal Artists-in-Res idence RoundtableJoin the Erie Canal Museum and New York State Canal Corpo ration in hosting 2025 Artists-in-Residence Sarah Cameron Sunde and Kari V arne in presenting their work over the last year as well as our incoming 2 026 Artists-in-Residence Hannah Allen and Z Behl\, who will discuss their upcoming projects.February 11 @ 12PM- "Freedom For All: Civil Resistance a nd the fight against slavery in Antebellum Syracuse”This presentation by Onondaaga Historical Association' Bob Searing examines the work of a smal l but dedicated group of abolitionists in Syracuse\, New York\, led by Rev . Samuel May and Rev. Jermain Loguen. Loguen\, a man who escaped his own e nslavement in Tennessee and settled in Syracuse in 1841\, became one of th e era's most successful and well-known Station Masters on the UGRR. These men and their compatriots helped make Syracuse a center for abolitionist a ctivity and organization and were primary participants in of the era's mos t significant acts of civil disobedience\, the Jerry Rescue\, in October 1 851. Additionally\, the talk will place the efforts of local reformers in the larger national context of the growing sectional controversies over sl avery\, which ultimately resulted in the Civil War in 1861.February 28 @ 1 2PM- Mules and Melodies: The Erie Canal's Impact on Music Commerce and Cul ture in Upstate New YorkLaurence Libin\, former curator of musical instrum ents at the Metropolitan Museum of Art will discuss how the canal helped s pread piano culture and Anne Laver\, associate professor of organ at Syrac use University will talk about the canal's impact on regional organ buildi ng and share clips from a new documentary film\, The Organ in America.We o ffer lectures each month on a variety of topics. As part of the Erie Canal Museum's mission\, this series aims to examine the diverse transformative impacts the Erie Canal had on peoples and places in the past\, present\, and future . All Sloan Lectures are available both in person and via Zoom. Everyone who registers will also receive a recording of the talk. If you have trouble registering please contact educator@eriecanalmuseum.org or ca ll 315-471-0593March 19 @ 12PM- Dr. Mary Edwards Walker - Radical Reformer Dr. Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919)\, surgeon\, abolitionist\, suffragist \, and dress reformer\, spent her life advocating for human rights and equ ality of the sexes. She is the only woman to date who has been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Born in the Town of Oswego\, she graduated from Syracuse Medical College in 1855 and volunteered in the Civil War unt il she was recognized for her skill and hired as a contract surgeon for th e Army. She was captured and held prisoner by the Confederates\, and in 18 65 was awarded the newly created Medal of Honor for her heroism. She spent the rest of her life campaigning for reforms\, especially the right for w omen to wear pants. The lecture will touch on her life\, the dramatic stor y of her Medal of Honor which was taken away and later restored\, and how we honor her in the United States today. This talk will be presented by Os wego area historian Mary Kay Stone.April 16 @ 12PM- The Great Steam Canal Boat Race of 1873Nearly as soon as the Erie Canal was completed in 1825\, inventors were already dreaming about powering canal boats by steam. Early attempts proved hopeful but not practical as the canal was not wide enoug h or deep enough to accommodate the heavier boats. With completion of the first enlargement by the 1860s many believed that steam-powered canal boat s were possible. New York State agreed\, and in 1873 sponsored a competiti on of steam canal boats from Syracuse to Utica for a prize of $100\,000. F ive boats competed to demonstrate how steam could revolutionize canal traf fic. The trials and tribulations of that race would give rise to the motiv ation of modernizing the canal to allow for motor power on the canal. It w as the construction of the barge canal in the early 20th century that woul d retire the horses and mules and welcome motorized boats on the canal sys tem. The Great Steam Canal Boat Race of 1873 helped make it happen. This t alk will be presented by Schuyler County Historian Gary Emerson.May 28 @ 6 PM- Making Humans More Humane—Henry Bergh and the Birth of Animal Rights in 19th century AmericaIn Gilded Age America\, people and animals lived c heek-by-jowl in environments that were dirty and dangerous to man and beas t alike. The industrial city brought suffering\, but it also inspired a co mpassion for animals that fueled a controversial anti-cruelty movement. Wh en Henry Bergh founded the ASPCA in 1866\, he launched a campaign to grant rights to animals that was applauded by many\, and ridiculed by many more . Bergh fought with robber barons\, Five Points gangs\, and legendary impr esario P.T. Barnum\, as he came to the defense of trolley horses\, livesto ck\, stray dogs\, and other animals. He also challenged the use\, and abus e\, of horses and mules on the Erie Canal\, a showdown that engaged the na tion and\, some argued\, threatened to shut down a crucial link in the nat ional economy. This talk is based on Ernest Freeberg’s 2020 book\, A Tra itor to His Species\, that tells the story of a remarkable man who helped to shape our modern relationship with animals.June 18 @ 12PM- Reframing th e Canal: Art and the Erie CanalThe Erie Canal has tremendously impacted bo th the State and the Nation in its two hundred years of history. The Canal itself—in addition to how we remember it and talk about it—helps shap e American culture and our current reality. Steph Adams will use 19th cent ury artwork\, public murals and monuments\, as well as work by past Erie C anal Artists-in-Residence to discuss the relationship between art\, memory \, heritage tourism\, and history. As we move past the Canal’s Bicentenn ial period and into America 250 commemorations\, it is up to us to shape h ow the Canal is remembered at its next milestone. This talk is presented b y the Erie Canal Museum's Director of Interpretation Steph Adams.July 15 @ 7PM- Revolutionary Waterway: The Erie Canal & the American RevolutionWhil e the Erie Canal opened 50 years after the beginning of the American Revol ution\, this talk by ECM Director of Education Derrick Pratt examines how the Revolution shaped the people\, places\, and ideas that ultimately crea ted this enormously influential public work. This talk will only be availa ble via Zoom and recording.August 19 @ 6PM- Canal Dreamers: The Epic Quest to Connect the Atlantic and Pacific in the Age of RevolutionsIn the 1820s \, there was a little-known quest to unite the world by building a waterwa y between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Central American ist hmus. As Spanish American nations declared independence and new canals int ensified US expansion and British industrialization\, many imagined the co nstruction of an interoceanic canal as predestined. For example\, New York Governor DeWitt Clinton envisioned himself presiding over a project even more significant than the newly opened Erie Canal. With dreams substitutin g for data\, he joined an international cast of politicians\, lawyers\, ph ilosophers\, and capitalists who sent competing agents on a race to transf orm Lake Nicaragua\, the San Juan River\, and the terra incognita of Centr al American forests into the world’s first global waterway. Although the idea of literally changing the world by connecting the oceans proved too revolutionary for the Age of Revolutions\, the quest itself changed histor y. Jessica M. Lepler tells the captivating story of this global journey in her new book\, Canal Dreamers: The Epic Quest to Connect the Atlantic and Pacific in the Age of Revolutions.Thank you to the Winifred & DeVillo Slo an\, Jr. Family Fund for supporting this series.\n\nBoletos: https://www.s impletix.com/e/2026-sloan-lecture-series-tickets-243113 URL;VALUE=URI:https://360exp.net/events/6585fdf8-f9f8-4985-9ccd-f8e8dd83be7 5 STATUS:CONFIRMED END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR