Lancaster Region

A troubling gap has opened in the social and political fabric of the United States, and people of faith and spirituality now find themselves on one side or the other—often alienated from family, friends, and brothers and sisters in the community and the church. In this course, we'll try to understand what caused the great divide and think together about how we can communicate in love despite our differences. We'll focus our conversation around Arlie Russell Hochschild's 2016 book, Strangers In Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right.

The lecture describes the evolution of the Holocaust from early Christian European anti-Judaism to the emergence of a pseudo-scientific justification for anti-Semitism in the 19th and 20th centuries. The lecture also examines the response of the United States to the rise of anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany and its decision to murder every man, woman, and child in Nazi-occupied Europe.

Leading Men: Historic Lancaster, PA, is a six-session series. Dr. Robert Frick, historian and presenter, will share the lives and times of 22 Historic Downtown Lancastrians. Grouped into six categories - Initiators, Pennsylvania’s Only U.S. President, Ministers, Proponents, Merchants, and Artists and Inventors - the brief biographies will demonstrate the critical roles these figures played in making Lancaster great. Participants should prepare for lively presentations filled with interesting facts and peppered with humor. Dr. Frick’s goal is education with a smile.

In 1998, the American Film Institute (AFI) polled over 1,500 artists and film industry leaders to gather their votes for the top 100 American films of all time. These “arbiters of excellence” chose from a list of 400 nominated films. The criteria included critical recognition, major awards won, popularity over time, historical significance, and cultural impact. Controversy ensued as often happens with any list of excellence. The AFI produced a revised list in 2007, and films were dropped, others added, some moved up, and others dropped down. This 2007 list will serve as the basis for the course. In Part 1 we will count down from #100 to #51. For each film, we will examine the historical and cultural context, the impact of each film on the art of feature narrative films, and discuss why this film found its way onto this exalted list. Clips will be shown for each film. Part 2 will be offered in Spring 2022.

In 1998, the American Film Institute (AFI) polled over 1500 artists and film industry leaders to gather their votes for the top 100 American films of all time. These “arbiters of excellence” chose from a list of 400 nominated films. The criteria included critical recognition, major awards won, popularity over time, historical significance, and cultural impact. Controversy ensued as often happens with any list of excellence. The AFI produced a revised list in 2007, and films were dropped, others added, some moved up, and others dropped down. This 2007 list will serve as the basis for the course. In Part 1 we will count down from #100 to #51. For each film, we will examine the historical and cultural context, the impact of each film on the art of feature narrative films and discuss why this film found its way onto this exalted list. Clips will be shown for each film. Part 2 will be offered in Spring 2022.

This session will examine the sometimes smooth and often rocky relationship between science and government in the debate over public policy goals and their implementation. The use of nuclear weapons in war, the landing of humans on the moon, and the vanquishing of disease all exemplify the interplay of scientists and politicians in the pursuit of public policies. Debates over vaccination, biotechnologies, and climate change all illustrate the turbulent search for truth and appropriate policy action in a time of sharply polarized politics.

The bluebird is one of the most cherished songbirds in the U.S. and has inspired poets, songwriters, playwrights, and movie directors for over 100 years. This course is a “hands-on” guide to bluebirds that provides practical knowledge and proven techniques to increase your chances of being successful with bluebirds in your backyard. New up-to-date techniques will be presented regarding habitat selection, building and installing nest boxes, monitoring techniques, planting flora for bluebirds, and protecting them from predators. The hope is for this presentation to inspire a new hobby or develop an appreciation for a special creation that God has given us to enjoy while on this earth: the bluebird.

Between the War for Independence and the Civil War, the young United States forged a distinct cultural profile. In that same period, the human body came increasingly under scrutiny: science, social practice, political contests, and theatrical representations all grappled with the body’s forms, meaning, and expressivity. This research investigates the intricate braiding of political, scientific, and danced representations of the body, focusing particularly on blackface minstrelsy and on ballet in antebellum Philadelphia, a city both representative of national trends and also distinct in its cultural, historic, and geographic position.

A troubling gap has opened in the social and political fabric of the United States, and people of faith and spirituality now find themselves on one side or the other—often alienated from family, friends, and brothers and sisters in the community and the church. In this course, we'll try to understand what caused the great divide and think together about how we can communicate in love despite our differences. We'll focus our conversation around Arlie Russell Hochschild's 2016 book, Strangers In Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right.

This presentation will look at the current and projected impacts of climate change globally, in the U.S., and here in Pennsylvania. We’ll also look at ways that we can adapt to those impacts, what we need to do to prevent the most catastrophic consequences of climate change, the relationship between climate change and global pandemics, and what you can do to help stop climate change.