The morning session of Friday’s Learning Series at The Henry Ford is again open to members at no charge. The topic is family and community life. Registration is required. Check-in begins at 9 a.m. and the program starts at 9:30 a.m. Presenters in Anderson Theater include Liette Gidlow and Jeanine Head Miller.

Liette Gidlow is an associate professor of history at Wayne State University. She is the author of two books, most recently Obama, Clinton, Palin:  Making History in 2008 (University of Illinois Press, 2011). Her research interests include U.S. politics, American consumer culture, and women’s history.

In her talk Changing Homes, Roles and Communities, Dr. Gidlow will explore America’s fascinating transformation from a producer society to a consumer society between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. As farms gave way to suburbs and general stores were replaced by shopping malls, Americans changed the way they worked, played, raised their families, and connected with neighbors. This transformation is evident in the exhibits of The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village.

Jeanine Head Miller is the curator of domestic life at The Henry Ford. Her background includes studies in American history, art history and psychology. She has 30 years of experience in the history museum field in a variety of roles. She has developed cataloging systems, designed historic interiors, created educational programs, authored publications, and curated exhibits. Jeanine has written and produced many visitor-focused museum programs, including museum theater, first-person video and audio components for exhibits and audio tours.

There is also a dramatic presentation: Tally’s Tales. When a woman named Tally begins to share the stories of her former life as a slave, sometimes words just aren’t enough. So she sings. Compelling, inspiring, tragic and uplifting.

The full-day workshop is designed for teachers and offers an opportunity to earn continuing education units. The afternoon portion of the workshop includes

• lunch
• a tour Greenfield Village  and visit to its working farms (Firestone Farm and Daggett Farmhouse), school houses, places of civic engagement (Logan County Courthouse and Town Hall), and places that helped people communicate across towns and across the country (Post Office, Printing Office, Smiths Creek Depot, and J.R. Jones General Store)

Teachers should register for the full-day workshop with the call center at 313-982-6001.