A Peculiar People: The Enfield, NH Shakers (In-person)

A Peculiar People: The Enfield, NH Shakers (In-person)

Spring (9 - 13 hours) | Registration closed 4/18/2024

One Court Street Lebanon, NH 03766 United States

Room 3A

4/22/2024-5/20/2024

View Schedule

$70.00

This is the in-person registration option for this HyFlex course.

The Shakers considered themselves “A Peculiar People,” whose faith required that they live in a close-knit, highly structured community of Believers. (The Shakers’ formal name is ‘The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing’.) Some tenets of their faith—the dual nature of God, gender and racial equality, community of property, pacifism, stewardship—challenged many in the 19th century, and offer opportunities for reflection now.

The course will move quickly from a general overview of Shaker history to a detailed exploration of the Enfield and Canterbury communities’ contributions to New Hampshire’s religious and social history. We will also explore the elements of their faith that brought them into conflict with their neighbors, and limited their ability to attract new converts to their way of life.

In recognition of the Enfield Shaker Museum’s recent purchase of the North Family Shaker property in Enfield, we will look in detail at its function as the “gathering order” for the society. The course will be offered in conjunction with the Enfield Shaker Museum and will include a site visit there. There is no entrance fee for the Museum for that visit. The course will combine lecture and class discussion.


  • There will be a field trip to the Enfield Shaker Museum. Course syllabus will provide details.

     

    Optional Books:

    The Collected Writings of Henry Cumings - Mary Ann Haagen, ed. (ISBN-13: 978-1937370022)

    Shaking the Faith - Elizabeth DeWolfe (ISBN: 0312295030) Copies available at Enfield Shaker Museum and local libraries

     

Mary Ann is a Shaker scholar, musician, and retired music teacher. She is a visiting scholar in the music department at Dartmouth, and is actively engaged in the work of the Enfield Shaker Museum. Her research focuses on the N.H. Shaker communities. She lectures widely on Shaker history, music, and dance. Her articles on Shaker history appear regularly in Shaker museum publications.