“WHY MARGARET FULLER MATTERS”
TRAVELING DISPLAY
“Why Margaret Fuller Matters” is a series of text-and-image panels designed to answer the fundamental question of why this great nineteenth-century figure remains important two centuries after her birth. This display, created during Margaret Fuller’s Bicentennial, is now available to libraries, schools, community organizations, and Unitarian Universalist congregations for the cost of shipping and an optional donation.
For those who have heard of Margaret Fuller only through her connection with her colleagues, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bronson Alcott, Elizabeth Peabody, and other Transcendentalists, the display will allow them to honor Fuller’s own ideas and contributions. For those who have never heard of Fuller, the display will reveal how her work impacted the actors of the “second revolution” of the nineteenth century—those who dedicated themselves to applying the ideals of the American (“first”) Revolution through courageous actions grounded in revolutionary philosophy and literature.
The ten colorful 24-inch x 18-inch foam core panels that comprise “Why Margaret Fuller Matters” include: an introductory panel; brief sketches of her key colleagues; a chronological telling of her life and her views on women’s rights, education (especially female), class, slavery, American Indian rights, religion, Transcendentalism, her world view as a trans-nationalist, and her vision of a just world.
The Margaret Fuller Bicentennial Committee believes that this major figure matters because virtually every woman in the Western world who has determined her own destiny, who has forged her own spiritual life, who votes, who enjoys legal rights and full citizenship, who has sought political office, and who is free to use her intellect and talents freely without condemnation stands on Margaret Fuller’s shoulders. There are few individuals in our past to whom we can point and say, “That one person changed the course of history for the better.” Margaret Fuller was such a person.
The author and designer of the display is Bonnie Hurd Smith, who created a similar display on Emerson during his Bicentennial year in 2003. Smith, the author of numerous books on historical subjects, particularly women’s history, also is an accomplished graphic designer.
To arrange for this display at your location, please contact Gretchen Ohmann at info@uuwr.org or call (269) 369-1114. You are responsible for the cost of shipping. A suggested donation of $100 or whatever you can afford would also be appreciated but is not required. Your contributions help keep the display available.
TRAVELING DISPLAY REQUEST FORM
Display Location ___________________________________________________
Address _________________________________________________________
Website___________________________ Phone ________________________
Contact Person ___________________________________________________
Email _____________________________ Phone ________________________
Plans for display: Please describe the setting, events you envision happening in conjunction with the display, and audiences you plan to invite to participate.
Please indicate your date preference as well as the length of time you’d like to keep the display.
1st choice ________________________________________________________
2nd choice ________________________________________________________
Costs:
• Shipping costs via Federal Express Ground C.O.D. will vary depending on the distance, generally $15 – 20 for the center of the country, $40 - $50 coast to coast. Please initial your agreement to cover round trip shipping costs. ________________
• Donation: suggested amount: $100.
A donation is not required; we are grateful for whatever amount you feel you can afford
Please estimate the amount of your donation ___________________
Please indicate when you can send the donation _____________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Please make donations payable to UU Women & Religion and send c/o Patti Clark, Treasurer, 3224 Timmons Lane #165, Houston TX 77027
Thank you!
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