Harrisburg Region

The British Empire once held a quarter of the world’s land and people under its sway. At the center of this imperial colossus lay the seething, vibrant city of London. Founded as a humble Roman army camp, London grew over the centuries to become a world-class capital of commercial, intellectual, and artistic life. This program takes you on a lively tour through London’s dramatic past and delightful present – from the Black Death and the Blitz to the British Museum and Buckingham Palace. You’ll also meet some of the city’s most famous residents, including George Frideric Handel, Sherlock Holmes, and Charlie Chaplin.

This lecture will enable listeners to understand the many ways in which the American people transformed during the course of the Second World War. In addition to building a mighty arsenal - including army, navy, and air force to fight a global war - they transformed their thinking about their role in the world. Moving from isolationism to global leadership in a few short years, the American people had to reinvent their national identity and develop a new relationship to the wider world.

The Digital Harrisburg project, in partnership with Messiah University, has compiled multiple data sets which include historical Census data, building footprints, and Sanborn maps. Geospatial processes were performed on each of these data sets and ultimately, an online interactive web map was constructed. The work done on Digital Harrisburg improved Census data, allowing a more accurate spatial analysis of the City of Harrisburg. As a result of the spatial analysis performed, trends of ethnicities and race movements across the city became apparent. This presentation will look at the population across Harrisburg from 1900 to 1930, exposing individual resident details such as race, immigration status and employment, and the patterns and trends of this population through time.

The history, practices, and traditions of the Orthodox Christian faith will be the focus of this three-session course. Presentations will include a basic approach to the belief system and way of life as lived out by followers of the Orthodox Church.

Are you interested in finding out about your family history and climbing your family tree? The class will be an introduction to online genealogy resources that are free to use and easily accessible to anyone with internet access. Find census, birth, marriage, military, and death records with ease and without spending a dime. This class will energize you to make discoveries on what makes your family unique, special, and downright interesting. All participants will receive a resource packet to organize and keep track of their findings. In addition to a resource packet provided for this session, Messiah University’s Murray Library will provide an online virtual help desk for one evening (details to be shared during the class) to help you one-on-one with your individual family history research questions.

The formation of the powerful Hollywood studios turned Hollywood into a worldwide phenomenon. These “factories” included rosters of extremely talented actors, directors, writers, cinematographers, and a whole host of other creative departments that churned out so many wonderful films. During the Golden Era that spanned the late 1920s until the late 1940s, each studio developed its own specific “personality” or style. We will look at each of the major studios: MGM, Paramount, Warner Brothers, RKO, 20th Century Fox, and the minor ones: Columbia, Universal and United Artists. We will watch scenes from many of their great films. We will also learn how they started to lose their grip on the industry that they created.

Whether you’re a native or a newcomer, Pennsylvania’s history offers you a rich smorgasbord of people, events, and ideas. This three-part course hits all the highlights of the Keystone story –  from William Penn’s “Holy Experiment” and the Revolutionary War, through the political turmoil and industrial growth of the 1800s, to the perils and progress that shared the spotlight in the 20th century. Along the way, we’ll explore some icons of Pennsylvania culture, including the Amish, the polka, and the pretzel. You’ll also learn about the best museums and historic sites in the state, where you can experience Pennsylvania’s dramatic and colorful past for yourself.

This course will have four sessions: Session 1. (March 5) An Escaped Slave and a President for White Men (Frederick Douglas on Abraham Lincoln).Session 2. (March 12) A Reactionary President and a Radical Republican Congress (Andrew Johnson 1865-1869 and the 14th and15th Amendments)Session 3. (March 19) An Affirming President disarmed by Corruption — the Shadow Darkens (Grant, Hayes & Tilden)Session 4. (March 26) The WilmingtonMassacre1898 — the triumph of Jim Crow, the end of the Republican Dream for Black Americans.     

The life and work of Mira Lloyd Dock, the first woman to serve in Pennsylvania state government, provides many insights into the Progressive Era conservation movement and women’s roles within that movement. Dock was heavily involved in the conservation movement at the local, state, and federal levels. Her most ardent supporters said she did more for forests than any woman in the United States. As a member of the Pennsylvania State Forest Commission, Dock helped formulate policies that served as models for other, northeastern industrial states. She also worked tirelessly for women's rights to have meaningful careers, enroll in institutions of higher education, and vote.

Race is a socially constructed social category based on physical appearance that has been used to put people into separate groups. Racism builds social structures which bring advantage to some groups and disadvantage to others. The most obvious one is slavery, but most every aspect of social structure and the economy is affected. The course will focus on what white people need to know about race in America. We will use videos, lectures, and class discussion to look at ways race has been used in American society historically and currently to build social and legal structures which disadvantage persons of color. Strategies to dismantle racism will be suggested.