THE NATURE OF MASONIC SCIENCE by SAMUEL BIAGETTI, Ph.D. - SHORT

Enjoy the first 16 minutes of the author reading Section iii: The Masonic Degree Rituals from Chapter 2: The Unfinished Temple- Interpreting Masonic Ritual, taken from his 2015 dissertation is titled : The Only Universal Monarchy Freemasonry, Ritual, and Gender in Revolutionary Rhode Island, 1749-1803. Dr. Biagetti's dissertation is over 750 pages with 19 chapters, plus Introduction, conclusion, bibliography, & glossary. It begins with the formation of British freemasonry in the 1500s and then grand lodges the 1700s, moves to American with the first lodge in Rhode Island in 1740s, through the American revolution, ends in the in 1804.

Along with a narrative, your various sections and chapters address the social make up / demographics of lodges, the so-called higher degrees perpetuated by Thomas Smith Webb and Moses Michael Hayes, and at the end the limits of Rhode Island Freemasonry as relating to the slave trade, women and gender.

Samuel Biagetti holds a Ph.D. in early American history from Columbia University, and has had research published in Early American Studies, Journal of Caribbean History, and Yale Journal of Law and the Humanities, as well as social commentary in various outlets. He has been consulted and interviewed on NPR. He lives in central Massachusetts, where he holds a very minor local elective office.

He hosts a great podcast: HISTORIANSPLAINING https://historiansplaining.com/