Breaking the News in the Age of Revolutions and Today – Online
Breaking the News in the Age of Revolutions and Today – Online
Join us for an in-depth talk with Dr. Joseph M. Adelman, Visiting Senior Fellow at Brown University and Professor of History at Framingham State University, exploring how news is created, shared, and experienced during moments of intense political and social change — and how those experiences compare across time.
When Rip Van Winkle awoke from his long nap and returned to his village, he found it buzzing with a new and anxious energy. Having lived through the Revolution, villagers spoke in a “busy, bustling, disputatious tone,” leaving old Rip disoriented and unsettled.
The same might be said today, as news seems to break by the minute across cable networks and social media feeds.
In this timely and thought-provoking lecture, Dr. Adelman examines how Americans navigated dramatic changes in news media during the Revolutionary era — and what that earlier media revolution can teach us about managing our own fast-moving information age.
Bio: Joseph M. Adelman is a Visiting Senior Fellow for the Brown 2026 Presidential Initiative at Brown University and Professor of History at Framingham State University. A scholar of early American print culture and media history, he explores how newspapers, politics, and public discourse shaped civic life in the Revolutionary era and beyond. He also serves as a producer and co-host of the podcast Ben Franklin’s World, bringing early American history to a broad public audience.
[Please note: This is an online program]
Admission: $10 per participant. Registered attendees will receive a link to join by email before the program begins.
DETAILS
| Date | April 7, 2026 |
|---|---|
| From | 5:00 pm |
| To | 6:00 pm |
| Type | Talk |
| Venue | Live on Zoom |