Quarterly-ish update, February 2017

Probably the most important things I've written since the last time I posted a quarterly update have been regarding civic participation. As regular readers know, civic participation as an individual and as part of my responsibility as a historian and museum professional is very important to me. In these polarizing times, participating is more important than ever. There are 12 known active hate groups in my state of Massachusetts; staying out of the fray would do nothing to combat their violent messages. One of the causes I care deeply about is making sure that everyone has a chance to be involved, and in that vein, I posted an open letter last month (which I also sent to a number of news outlets) asking for more coverage of nonvoters. This past week, I had the opportunity to visit the much-publicized exhibit "the Davis. Without Immigrants," also known by its hashtag #ART-LESS, which was up over Presidents Day weekend. I reviewed it on my blog, describing my experience as a visitor but also trying to imagine what I would have thought of the exhibit if it had conveyed a political view strongly different from my own.

Also on my blog A Catalog of Curiosity, I recently posted "Some Experiences I Loved," which is a round-up of my posts about things I enthusiastically recommend and a short list of other recommendations I haven't blogged about.