As a part of Discover History Month, the Camden Public Library plans to host eco-historian, researcher and author Kerry Hardy for his presentation, “River of History: Public History of the Hudson/Mahicannituck.”

The talk, also offered via Zoom, will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, at the 55 Main St. library.

Hardy’s talk will introduce how he uses different disciplines (geology, linguistics, ethnography, primary source historical documents, and human ecology and economy) to understand a place, and produce what some people call a “public history.” In this case, Hardy investigates the area at the mouth of the Hudson River, which might better be called the Mahicannituck.

Hardy will show how its development has been shaped by glaciers, oysters, beavers, Native Americans, pirates, enslaved people, and assorted events and accidents, into what we today call New York and Jersey City, according to a news release from Julia Sagaser at the library.

This talk stems from Hardy’s work for the last five years as the lead researcher and cartographer for the Public History Project, under Dr. Jack Tchen, who currently heads the Clement Price Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience at Rutgers-Newark.

“Our contention is that these cities, and this nation, have been built with substantial and unrecognized subsidies like the dispossession of Native Americans, the enslavement of Africans, and the sacking of a bountiful environment,” Hardy said. “A greatly revised, and much fuller, historical narrative is needed.”

For more information and to find the Zoom registration link to attend virtually, visit the “What’s Happening” adult events calendar at librarycamden.org.

Check out other upcoming area events!