Scholarly Lecture Series

Scholarly Lecture Series

The Scholarly Lecture Series is an annual collaboration between Wilton Library and the Wilton Historical Society. Each year a theme is developed, and respected scholars are engaged to provide a lively, thought-provoking talk on their specialty subject. The lecture is followed by a question and answer period and reception. Generous sponsors make it all possible; each lecture is individually sponsored.

The 2024 Scholarly Lecture Series

Innovation, Disruption, Revolution:
The Impact of Technological Advancement

In the 17th year of collaboration between Wilton Library and Wilton Historical Society, the scholarly lecture series will focus on the theme of “Innovation, Disruption, Revolution: The Impact of Technological Advancement.” Each lecture in the special three-part series requires separate registration. Please note the location of each lecture.

There is no charge to attend; however, a $10 suggested donation may be made to the hosting institution directly from the individual registration pages. Registration is required for each individual lecture. Please see the registration links below for more program and speaker details.

The lectures are as follows:


Sunday, January 28th, 4 to 5:30 p.m., at the Wilton Library. 

Down Sodom: The Impact of Rapid Industrialization on Everyday Life in Late 18th and Early 19th Century Connecticut – Jamie Eves

Click here to register

In the 17th year of the collaboration between Wilton Library and the Wilton Historical Society, the scholarly lecture series will focus on the theme of “Innovation, Disruption, Revolution: The Impact of Technological Advancement.” In this kick-off program, Jamie Eves, Senior Curator of the Mill Museum in Willimantic, CT, will discuss how New Englanders dealt with the rapid evolution of many industrializing towns during the 18th and 19th century in the face of changing technologies. New innovations brought new businesses, wealth, and people to many Connecticut towns, in some cases even building entirely new communities with their own distinct identities. However, with change comes resistance and resentment as people connected to these communities embraced or rejected the new reality technology enabled.

Jamie Eves is the Mill Museum’s Senior Curator and Historian in Residence, as well as the Town Historian of Windham, CT. He earned a PhD in American History at the University of Connecticut. His doctoral dissertation, Valley White With Mist, examines the relationships between people and environment in the Piscataquis River Valley in northern Maine. He has an MA and BA in History from the University of Maine. He is Executive Director Emeritus of the Mill Museum, having served in that capacity from 2011 until 2021. Jamie has been teaching history at the university level for more than twenty- five years with research specialties including 18th, 19th, and 20th century American environmental and industrial history, the history of New England, and public history. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut League of Museums.

Reception following the talk. No charge but a $10 suggested donation is always welcomed. Click here to donate. This series is sponsored by Laureen Mody. The moderator for this lecture is Nick Foster.

Registration required. Please register for each lecture individually. Please register online or call 203-762-6334.

This lecture will be hosted at Wilton Library, 137 Old Ridgefield Road, Wilton, CT. www.wiltonlibrary.org


Thursday, February 15th, 7 to 8:30 p.m., at the Wilton Historical Society. 

Where did the Internet, Stealth, GPS, and Covid mRNA vaccines come from? The Role of DARPA in Fostering Disruptive Technologies – William Bonvillian

Click here to register

In the 17th year of the collaboration between Wilton Library and the Wilton Historical Society, the scholarly lecture series will focus on the theme of “Innovation, Disruption, Revolution: The Impact of Technological Advancement.” In this lecture, William Bonvillian, MIT lecturer and Wilton resident, will discuss the crucial role of the U.S. government in the development of everything from the internet to COVID vaccines. Its role has been not just in funding the research that led to these huge technological advances but also in bridging the enormous gap between fundamental scientific breakthroughs and their commercially successful applications. One of the most extraordinary engines over the past half century for identifying breakthroughs and bridging them to real-world application is DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and, later, its “clones” in other government agencies beyond the U.S. Department of Defense that is DARPA’s home. This session will describe those technological breakthroughs and illuminate DARPA’s (and its clones’) role in bringing them about.

Bill Bonvillian is a Lecturer at MIT and a Senior Director at MIT’s program for Open Learning. From 2006 until 2017, he was Director of MIT’s Washington office, supporting MIT’s long-standing role in science policy. He teaches courses on science and technology policy at MIT and is author of five books on innovation policy, including a 2020 book on DARPA. Previously, he worked for over 15 years on innovation issues as a senior advisor in the U.S. Senate, and earlier was a Deputy Assistant U.S. Secretary of Transportation. He has served on two National Academy of Science Boards and nine other NAS committees and was named a Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences. He is a Wilton resident and Wilton High School graduate and has degrees from Columbia, Yale and Columbia Law.

Reception following the talk. No charge but a $10 suggested donation is always welcomed. Click here to donate. This series is sponsored by Laureen Mody. The moderator for this lecture is Steve Hudspeth.

Registration required. Please register for each lecture individually. Please register online or call 203-762-6334.

This lecture will be held at the Wilton Historical Society, 224 Danbury Road, Wilton, CT. www.wiltonlibrary.org


Sunday, March 10th, 4 to 5:30 p.m., at the Wilton Library.

The Future of Innovation – John Kao

Click Here to Register

In the 17th year of the collaboration between Wilton Library and the Wilton Historical Society, the scholarly lecture series will focus on the theme of “Innovation, Disruption, Revolution: The Impact of Technological Advancement.” In this lecture, John Kao, Turing Fellow at Yale’s Digital Media Center, will present a contemporary view of what innovation is, where it is going, and how advanced technology is reshaping its foundations. Our current way of thinking about and doing innovation does not, for the most part, fit our new business and societal realities. Innovation remains essential, especially in these turbulent times. But, to remain relevant, it needs to evolve. Its very definition needs clarification; its core methods need to be reimagined. The future of innovation is now intimately entwined with the rapid advance of technology. Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT, innovation marketplaces, and augmented reality are only some of the powerful influences that will shape future innovation practices. And, they raise the central question of how humans and machines will renegotiate the trade space for creativity, entrepreneurship…and innovation.

For the past 25 years, John Kao has worked in an area loosely bounded by the terms innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship, and leadership. Dubbed “Mr. Creativity” by The Economist, his work has been partly academic: 14 years at Harvard Business School; visiting appointments at the MIT Media Lab; and the US Naval Postgraduate School among others. He’s also worked in Hollywood, Broadway, the music industry, the worlds of politics and national security as well as Silicon Valley. John is currently the Turing Fellow at Yale’s Digital Media Center, a Visiting Fellow at Yale’s engineering school and a Yale entrepreneur-in-residence. He co-founded and is Chairman Emeritus of ThayerMahan, Inc., a leader in maritime intelligence. With a BA and MD from Yale and a Harvard MBA, John has also written Jamming which looks at what we can all learn from jazz musicians, and Innovation Nation: How America Is Losing Its Innovation Edge, Why It Matters and What We Can Do To Get It Back.

Reception following the talk. No charge but a $10 suggested donation is always welcomed. Click here to donate. This series is sponsored by Laureen Mody. The moderator for this lecture is Max

Gabrielson. Registration required. Please register for each lecture individually. Please register online or call 203-762-6334.

This lecture will be hosted at Wilton Library, 137 Old Ridgefield Road, Wilton, CT. www.wiltonlibrary.org


As a “coda” to this year’s series, a special guest speaker will present at the opening of the Wilton Historical Society’s newest exhibition Wilton Works, opening in April 2024. This exhibition will explore how the jobs that Wiltonians do have affected the town’s history. The nature of how jobs are done, and who does them for whom, has profoundly impacted the town through to modern times. The technology discussed in this year’s series plays a prominent role in how we have looked at occupations historically and how we will view them in the future.

Details on the exhibition opening and the guest speaker to come.


Past History Lecture Series:

 

How the History Lecture Series Began

In 2008 Louise Herot, then President of Wilton Library, Owen Williams and Dr. Greg Chann, Co-Presidents of the Wilton Historical Society – met up at the Kiwanis Roast Beef Dinner. There they hatched a plan to draw on the synergistic relationship and collaborative spirit that exists between the Society and the Library.
They characterized this project as one which:
Stimulates the minds of our fellow citizens,
Reminds us that history needs to be studied so that we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past,
Educates in a way that makes history come alive,
And one that brings new energy and facets to our organizations.

And thus began the History Lecture Series.