Should we care about the past? Maine Statehood From 1820-2025

This free program is offered in partnership with the University of Southern Maine and will take place at the USM Portland campus.

Cities, states, and nations are grappling with how best to commemorate histor­ical events and anniversaries in ways that are fair and accurate and that open public dialogue about the contested past. Several contributors to the new essay collection What We Know, What We Wish: Maine Statehood, Historical Commemoration, and the Urgency of Public History (UMass Press, 2025) will offer a brief illustrated panel presentation about Maine statehood and its commemoration as the starting point for a discussion with the audience about the value of history today.

About the presenters:

Liam Riordan is Adelaide C. Bird and Alan L. Bird Professor and Chair of the History Department at the University of Maine.

Jessica Skwire Routhier is an independent art historian and editor based in South Portland.

Laura Sprague, a Portland resident, serves as consulting curator for the Bowdoin College Museum of Art and Tate House Museum.

This event takes place at USM in the Wishcamper Center, Room 102/Community Room, 34 Bedford Street, Portland, Maine.

You may also like the following events from Maine Historical Society:

• Next Wednesday, 20th August, 07:00 pm, The Murder of Dorothy Milliken, A Book Talk with Sharon Kitchens in Portland
• Next Friday, 22nd August, 10:00 am, Women's History Walking Tour in Portland
• This month, 28th August, 01:00 pm, The Mystery of Miss Pattee in Portland

Also check out other Arts events in Portland.