"The Huguenots in France: What Came Before They Converted or Fled," a conversation and book signing with Dr. Barbara B. Diefendorf

Historian Dr. Barbara D. Diefendorf will be speaking at Historic Huguenot Street on the DuBois Fort lawn (81 Huguenot Street) about the French Wars of Religion and the experience of the Huguenots in France. Rather than a traditional lecture, this event will take an informal approach, inviting guests to engage in discussion with Dr. Diefendorf and each other in an intimate setting as they enjoy hors d'oeuvres and address questions relating to the myth-making power of history, religious violence and persecution, and the Huguenots’ role in the French Wars of Religion.

The discussion will be lead by SUNY New Paltz Associate Professor of History Dr. Heather Morrison. Dr. Morrison teaches courses in European history from the Renaissance through the French Revolution and has assigned Dr. Diefendorf's publications in courses on the Reformation, Early Modern Cities, and Early Modern Europe.

Following the discussion, Dr. Diefendorf will be signing copies of Beneath the Cross: Catholics and Huguenots in Sixteenth-Century Paris (1991, recipient of the New England Historical Association and National Huguenot Association Book Prizes). Copies of the book will be available for purchase ($49.95 + tax). The event will be catered by Bridge Creek Catering.

Dr. Diefendorf has taught European history at Boston University since 1980. She is the author of Paris City Councillors in the Sixteenth Century: The Politics of Patrimony (1983), From Penitence to Charity: Pious Women and the Catholic Reformation in Paris (2004, awarded the J. Russell Major Prize by the American Historical Association in 2005), and The Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre: A Brief History with Documents (2009), along with numerous journal articles and book chapters. She has held fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Camargo Foundation. She is currently working on a book about the impact of the French Wars of Religion on local communities and a series of essays on the culture of the Catholic Reformation in France.

Saturday, August 22, at 5 pm outside the DuBois Fort. Members $20; seniors and military $22; general admission $25. Register at http://squ.re/1JM95od.

Pictured: Le massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy, François Dubois, ca. 1572-84