03/16/2026
The UT Martin chapter of Phi Kappa Phi will host its 2026 Muriel D. Tomlinson Lecture featuring Dr. Kassie Jo Baron, assistant professor of English, who will present research on American labor activism in New England’s early textile industry.
Baron’s lecture, titled “Sarah Bagley Didn’t Write That: Misattribution and Its Consequences,” will begin at 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 31, in the Tennessee Room of the McCombs Center on the UT Martin campus.
The presentation focuses on Sarah Bagley, a “mill girl” who worked in the cotton mills of Lowell, Massachusetts, during the 1830s and 1840s. Bagley’s experiences with harsh industrial working conditions led her to become a prominent labor activist. However, many writings attributed to her have been misreported or misappropriated.
“In particular, two quotes that have been widely attributed to Sarah Bagley are incorrect,” Baron notes. “The misattribution of these quotes has significantly shaped how factory operatives, their goals, and their contributions to abolition and labor organizing have been understood.”
Phi Kappa Phi’s Muriel D. Tomlinson Lecture is presented each spring by a distinguished faculty member in the arts and humanities. The lecture honors Dr. Muriel Tomlinson, who served as chair of the UT Martin Department of Modern and Foreign Languages from 1959 to 1976 and was a strong supporter of the ideals of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.
The event is open to the public and light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Dr. Chris Hill, President of Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 127, at 731-881-7292. Reservations are not required but may be made through UT Martin’s Runway Events Platform.
