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  • Humanities Center's Visiting Scholar: Dr. Michael Hattem, "The American Revolution in Popular Memory"

Humanities Center's Visiting Scholar: Dr. Michael Hattem, "The American Revolution in Popular Memory"

Announced on: Thursday, Feb. 05, 2026

Dr. Michael Hattem, "The American Revolution in Popular Memory"

Historian, Associate Director of the Yale-New Haven Teacher Institute

Thursday, February 19 at 5:30 p.m., on Zoom

Register for Webinar: https://csuchico.zoom.us/meeting/register/jDvU3yngTDWzIhGYdrd9iw#/registration

In this talk, historian Michael D. Hattem explores how and why the American Revolution has had a unique place in the nation's popular memory of its past. He will discuss the importance of how generations of Americans have told the story of the Revolution, how politics have shaped how the Revolution has been remembered, and how Americans have fought over the meanings and legacy of the Revolution for nearly 250 years. By uncovering the role of the memory of the Revolution as an American "origin myth," he will offer insights into the history of the changing relationship between the American people and their Revolution as we approach 2026 and the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Dr. Michael D. Hattem is a historian on early America, the American Revolution, and historical memory, who earned his Ph.D. in History from Yale University. He is the author of The Memory of '76: The Revolution in American History (2024), which was a finalist for the 2025 George Washington Prize, and Past and Prologue: Politics and Memory in the American Revolution (2020). His work has been featured in The New York Times, TIME magazine, The Smithsonian Magazine, the Washington Post, as well as many other mainstream media publications and outlets. He has also served as a historical consultant or contributor for a number of projects and organizations, curated historical exhibitions, appeared in television documentaries, and authenticated and written catalogue essays for historical document auctions. For more information, visit mdhattem.com.


Co-sponsored by the Chico State Women's Philanthropy Council.

To learn more about the Humanities Center, contact Dr. Erin Kelly at ekkelly@csuchico.edu or go to https://www.csuchico.edu/academics/college/humanities-fine-arts/events/humanities-center/index.shtml.
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