153 past events with the history tag

This April for our Liberation Flicks we’ll be hosting a series of documentaries that cover the rich and hidden history of student activism. Join us every Friday to learn from our past and how to change the future! 

Come join us for a new reading every Sunday at our weekly Marxist reading group! Beginners welcome and readings will be provided. 

Join us this Thursday to read a short anthropological record of LGBTQ+ oppression from a Marxist perspective and a brief overview of the diverse history of Queer militant and worker struggles in the U.S. from past to present. Readings will be provided at this free event, so just bring yourself and a friend!

⏰ Thursday, April 9th at 4pm

📍 Muncie Liberation Studio, 1809 W University Ave (next to Chavas and China Express)

This April for our Liberation Flicks we’ll be hosting a series of documentaries that cover the rich and hidden history of student activism. Join us every Friday to learn from our past and how to change the future! 

Join us this Friday for a free film screening at the Muncie Liberation Studio. We will be watching ‘a time to stir’ a documentary which covers the 1968 student revolt at Columbia over the university’s support for  the imperialist plunder of Vietnam and its policies of racial segregation. This history is vital for us to reflect and mediate on to learn the lessons and tactics necessary to advance the ongoing struggle against capitalism.

This April for our Liberation Flicks we’ll be hosting a series of documentaries that cover the rich and hidden history of student activism. Join us every Friday to learn from our past and how to change the future! 

This April for our Liberation Flicks we’ll be hosting a series of documentaries that cover the rich and hidden history of student activism. Join us every Friday to learn from our past and how to change the future! 

Come join us for a new reading every Sunday at our weekly Marxist reading group! Beginners welcome and readings will be provided. 

All are welcome!

Schedule

• 6–6:45 p.m.: Cocktail hour featuring several tables displaying historical artifacts, current University Libraries projects, and more
• 6:45–7:15 p.m.: Catered meal
• 7:15–8 p.m.: Kirkham Lecture featuring historian Andy Olson

Register Here

Featured Kirkham Lecture

“The Kilgore Pact Legend and the 1818 St. Marys Treaties”

    In seeking to confirm a family legend involving prominent Delaware County resident David Kilgore (1804–1879), Andy Olson uncovered a surprising historical detail connected to the 1818 treaties signed at St. Marys, Ohio. Olson discovered that none of the individuals receiving land grants in one of the treaties were Delawares—raising questions about why and how that came to be. His presentation explores what he found and what it may reveal about the period.

About the speaker

    Andy Olson is an amateur historian and award-winning writer whose work has appeared in Connections, Traces, and other publications. He is the author of Forging the Bee Line Railroad, 1848–1889: The Rise and Fall of the Hoosier Partisans and Cleveland Clique (Kent State University Press, 2017). In 2024, he received the Indiana Historical Society’s Willard C. Heiss Family History and Genealogy Award.

June 12; 6–8 p.m. | Center Building, Indiana Room 
Cost: $28 | Member Discounts Apply | Ages 21+ 
Join Chris Flook, local historian, author, and senior lecturer in the Department of Media at Ball State University, for a journey along the White River through Muncie’s past. Beginning with the Lenape settlement of the 1790s, the program traces the river’s role in the agricultural village of the 1830s and the industrial city that followed. Along the way are stories of prosperous mills, devastating floods and towering levees, pollution and recovery, grand bridges, and long-standing myths set straight. Guests are invited to see familiar places in a new way while enjoying delicious appetizers. Preregistration is preferred; limited walk-in tickets may be available—please call ahead. This program has been made possible through a grant from Indiana Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

https://www.minnetrista.net/events/history-bites-chris-flook-muncietown-june-12-26

July 8; 3–4:30 p.m. | Center Building, Indiana Room   
Cost: $25 | Member Discounts Apply | Ages 13+ 

Enjoy refreshments while joining Director of Curation & Exhibition, Sebastián Encina, for a compelling look at 250 years of Hoosier history. Drawing from Minnetrista's dual America at 250 exhibitions, this talk explores East Central Indiana’s place within the broader story of the United States and how our region reflects the national narrative. Through stories of where we have been and where we are going, participants will gain a deeper understanding of our shared history and its lasting impact. Preregistration is preferred; limited walk-in tickets may be available—please call ahead. 

Black August Film Series

Free film screening and discussion 

Hosted weekly at the Muncie Liberation Studio, Third World Study Group is meant to be a place where we can engage in collective study to develop a more holistic understanding of the political state of the world and its history. We seek to hear from people engaged directly in struggles for national liberation and to better understand the role of U.S. imperialism in global politics. 

August 12; 3–4 p.m. | Center Building  

Cost: $10 | Member Discounts Apply | Ages 13+

Show your school spirit on a nostalgic journey through the Minnetrista Heritage Collection. Join the Collections team for a behind-the-scenes tour into secure storage areas, where you’ll discover the tools, trends, and traditions that shaped school life in our community. Explore artifacts rarely on public display, including educational toys, uniforms, sports memorabilia, instruments, photographs, class rings, and yearbooks—and maybe even spot a few objects from your own school days. This tour may include standing, stairs, and exposure to loud HVAC noise. Preregistration is preferred; limited walk-in tickets may be available—please call ahead. If you need accommodations, please notify us in advance.

https://www.minnetrista.net/events/collections-tour-aug-12-2026

August 13; 6–8 p.m. | Center Building, Indiana Room 
Cost: $28 | Member Discounts Apply | Ages 21+

 
Join Cody Sprunger, Archivist for Architectural and Design Records at Ball State University, for an exploration of the local built environment shaped by Herbert Smenner, one of Muncie’s leading 20th-century architects. Working both independently and alongside his professional partner Charles Houck, Smenner helped define the region’s architectural character through designs such as the Muncie Fieldhouse and the Grace Keiser Maring Library. Through original architectural drawings, documents, and photographs from Ball State University Libraries’ Andrew Seager Archives of the Built Environment, the program brings Smenner’s creative process to life while highlighting the lasting impact of his work across East Central Indiana. Guests are invited to see familiar places in a new way while enjoying delicious appetizers. Preregistration is preferred; limited walk-in tickets may be available—please call ahead. 

free film screening and discussion 

Hosted weekly at the Muncie Liberation Studio, Third World Study Group is meant to be a place where we can engage in collective study to develop a more holistic understanding of the political state of the world and its history. We seek to hear from people engaged directly in struggles for national liberation and to better understand the role of U.S. imperialism in global politics. 

free film screening and discussion

Hosted weekly at the Muncie Liberation Studio, Third World Study Group is meant to be a place where we can engage in collective study to develop a more holistic understanding of the political state of the world and its history. We seek to hear from people engaged directly in struggles for national liberation and to better understand the role of U.S. imperialism in global politics.