Schedule draft in progress: (Updated 3/1/2011)
Overall series partners: Historical Society of Pennsylvania confirmed; Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia confirmed;
Overall series cosponsors: Young Involved Philadelphia confirmed; The Friends of Independence confirmed; WHYY confirmed; City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program confirmed; Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation confirmed; Neighborhood Interfaith Movement confirmed; Philadelphia Media Network confirmed; Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent confirmed; Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH) confirmed.
Funded in part by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council.
The Greater Philadelphia Roundtable encourages discussion of Philadelphia history and issues and builds public participation in the project to create an Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. The series planned for 2011-12 focuses on civic identity, including its significance in community life and economic development. Essays and discussions will be rooted in the historical origins of the key descriptive phrases listed below but also will move deeply and creatively to probe the ideas at the heart of civic identity, including the contradictions, ironies, and silences that such slogans may mask. What meanings do these associations have for civic life today? Do they unite or divide us? Do they provide bridges between the past, present and future?
Prior to each program, a related essay will be published in the Sunday Inquirer and online, accompanied if possible by an image from the Mural Arts Program. Format for programs: Panel discussion, 30-45 minutes; balance of time for audience discussion, in breakout groups if audience exceeds 20 people. A written record and audio recording of discussion will be published on the web site of the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, http://www.philadelphiaencyclopedia.org .
Teachers who attend these programs may register for Act 48 continuing education credit.
1. City of Brotherly Love
William Penn envisioned Philadelphia as a “City of Brotherly Love.” With this concept from the city’s founding as a framing device and point of departure this discussion encompasses tolerance and intolerance; may also address reform, philanthropy, and voluntary associations.
Date: March 23, 2011 confirmed
Place: HSP confirmed
Featured essayist/panelist: Chris Satullo, WHYY confirmed
Moderator: Jean Soderlund, Lehigh University confirmed
Panelist: Stephen Glassman, Chairperson, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission confirmed
Panelist: Kali Gross, Drexel University confirmed
Possible artist / film-maker:
Event partners: Historical Society of Pennsylvania confirmed; WHYY confirmed; Africana Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at Drexel University.
Contacts for p.r. coordination:
2. The Holy Experiment
Penn intended Pennsylvania as a “Holy Experiment” dedicated to tolerance for all religious practices. With this phrase as a point of departure, this program focuses on religion and faith communities.
Date: April 14, 2011 confirmed
Place: Friends Center confirmed; facilities contact Robin Lawthers, 215-241-7000, email RLawthers@friendscentercorp.org
Featured essayist/panelist: Emma Lapsansky-Werner confirmed
Moderator: Randall Miller confirmed
Panelist: Maris Gillette, Haverford College (Muslim Voices Project) confirmed
Panelist: Rabbi George Stern, Executive Director, Neighborhood Interfaith Movement confirmed
Panelist: Tuomi Forrest, Partners for Sacred Places confirmed
Event partners: American Friends Service Committee (checking); Neighborhood Interfaith Movement confirmed; Partners for Sacred Places confirmed
Contacts for p.r. coordination: Alexis Moore, AMoore@afsc.org
3. Green Country Town
Penn envisioned Philadelphia as a “green country town” with large, spacious lots stretching from the Delaware River to the Schuylkill. Philadelphia’s earliest residents quickly spoiled the vision by clustering close to the Delaware and cutting alleys into the blocks of the original city plan, but the plan remains visible in the open squares and grid of today’s Center City. This program focuses on public space and urban and suburban planning and development.
Date: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 confirmed
Place: Pa Horticultural Society confirmed
Featured essayist/panelist: Inga Saffron confirmed
Moderator: Drew Becher, Pa Horticultural Society confirmed
Panelist: Eugenie Birch, University of Pennsylvania confirmed
Panelist: Pete Hoskins, Laurel Hill Cemetery confirmed
Possible artist / film-maker:
Event partners: Pa Horticultural Society confirmed ; Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery (will offer attendees a discount for a May program at Laurel Hill) confirmed; Academy of Natural Sciences confirmed
Contacts for p.r. coordination:
4. The Cradle of Liberty
Based on associations with the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Constitution, “Cradle of Liberty” gained currency in the nineteenth century as a descriptive phrase for Philadelphia (a point of contention with Bostonians, who claim the same title for Faneuil Hall). This discussion focuses not only on Philadelphia’s role in the American Revolution but also more broadly on topics related to freedom, restrictions on freedom, and the pursuit of social justice.
Date: June 23, 2011
Place: National Constitution Center confirmed
Featured essayist/panelist: Gary Nash confirmed
Moderator: Richard Beeman, University of Pennsylvania confirmed
Panelist: Richard Newman, Rochester Institute of Technology confirmed
Panelist: Michael Coard, Avenging the Ancestors Coalition confirmed
Possible artist / film-maker:
Event partners: National Constitution Center confirmed; Friends of Independence confirmed; Avenging the Ancestors Coalition confirmed
Contacts for p.r. coordination:
5. The Athens of America
“Athens of America” and “Athens of the Western World” emerged in the early nineteenth century as references to Philadelphia’s dominance in arts and culture. This discussion focuses on Philadelphia’s ongoing role as a center of arts and culture, especially in the visual arts but also encompassing cultural institutions, entertainment, and popular culture.
Date: September 16, 2011 confirmed
Place: Philadelphia Museum of Art confirmed
Featured essayist/panelist: Alexandra Kirtley, PMA confirmed
Moderator: Kim Sajet, HSP confirmed
Panelist: Carmen Febo San Miguel, Taller Puertorriqueno confirmed
Panelist: David Brownlee, University of Pennsylvania confirmed
Possible artist / film-maker:
Event partners: Philadelphia Museum of Art confirmed; Taller Puertorriqueno confirmed
Contacts for p.r. coordination:
6. Workshop of the World
The phrase “workshop of the world” originated as a reference to Great Britain, but by the late nineteenth century the title also was claimed by the United States and particularly by Philadelphians to describe their role in industrial production. This discussion focuses on work and the economy, including consumption as well as production; it deals with the rise and decline of industry as well as policy implications of the postindustrial transition.
Date: October 19, 2011 confirmed
Place: Tacony Branch, Free Library of Philadelphia confirmed Contact for facilities coordination: David Payne, librarian, email PayneD@freelibrary.org
Featured essayist/panelist: Walter Licht, University of Pennsylvania confirmed
Moderator: Phil Scranton, Rutgers-Camden confirmed
Panelist: Daniel Sidorick, author and historian confirmed
Panelist: Carla Bednar, Fabric of Philadelphia Initiative confirmed
Possible artist / film-maker:
Event partners: Historical Society of Tacony confirmed; Tacony Branch, Free Library of Philadelphia confirmed; Fabric of Philadelphia Initiative confirmed
Contacts for p.r. coordination: For the library, David Payne, PayneD@freelibrary.org
7. Corrupt and Contented
In The Shame of the Cities (1904), journalist Lincoln Steffens famously dubbed Philadelphia “corrupt and contented,” a commentary not only on the machine politicians in power but also on the citizens who did not seem to care. With this reputation as a point of departure, this program focuses on scandals and malfeasance by public officials and exposure of their activities.
Date: Tuesday November 15, 2011 confirmed
Place: Philadelphia Media Network headquarters community room, 400 N. Broad St., Philadelphia confirmed
Featured essayist/panelist: Paul Davies, Philadelphia Inquirer confirmed
Moderator: Zack Stalberg, Committee of Seventy confirmed
Panelist: David Thornburgh, Fels Institute of Government confirmed
Panelist:
Possible artist / film-maker:
Event partners: Fels Institute of Government confirmed; ask journalism organizations
Contacts for p.r. coordination:
8. City / Region of Firsts
A chronology of Philadelphia history published in 1926 popularized the slogan “City of Firsts” by identifying innovations such as the first hospital in America and the first municipal water system. This phrase serves as a point of departure for discussion of innovation, particularly in science and technology.
Date: in January 2012
Place: Franklin Institute (checking)
Featured essayist/panelist: Michael Zuckerman, University of Pennsylvania confirmed
Moderator: Babak Ashrafi, Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science confirmed
Panelist: Steven Peitzman, M.D., Drexel University College of Medicine (pending confirmation of date)
Panelist: Keith Thomson, former director, Academy of Natural Sciences (pending confirmation of date)
Film-maker: Grover Silcox, WLVT PBS 39 (Philly Firsts documentary) confirmed
Event partners: Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science confirmed; Franklin Institute confirmed; Academy of Natural Sciences confirmed
Contacts for p.r. coordination:
9. Philadelphia, the Place That Loves You Back
During the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, as tourism became increasingly important to Philadelphia’s economy, civic boosters generated numerous slogans to tout the city and region as fun and inviting. (Some slogans also poked fun at Philadelphians’ own view of their city, most famously in the 1970s, “Philadelphia’s Not as Bad as Philadelphians Say It Is.”) This program deals with tourism and other efforts to promote the city and region, and may also encompass an array of distinctive characteristics of the city and region.
Date: February 22, 2012 confirmed
Place: Independence Visitor Center confirmed
Featured essayist/panelist: Richardson Dilworth, Drexel University confirmed
Moderator: Charlene Mires, Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities at Rutgers-Camden confirmed
Panelist: Meryl Levitz, Greater Philadelphia Tourism and Marketing Corporation confirmed
Panelist: Bob Skiba, Association of Philadelphia Tourguides confirmed
Possible artist / film-maker:
Event partners: GPTMC confirmed
Contacts for p.r. coordination:
10. City of Neighborhoods / City of Homes
Date: March 28, 2012 confirmed
Place: Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent confirmed
Featured essayist/panelist: Linn Washington, Temple University confirmed
Moderator: Carolyn Adams, Temple University confirmed
Panelist: Domenic Vitiello, University of Pennsylvania confirmed
Panelist: Thoai Nguyen, SEAMAAC Inc. confirmed
Film-maker: Louis Massiah, Scribe Video (“Precious Places” films) confirmed
Event partners: SEAMAAC Inc. confirmed
Contacts for p.r. coordination: