FIC OCTOBER PROGRAMS
October 3, Thursday Luncheon Roundtable – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.
Speaker is David Young. His topic – Germantown: A Battleground for Effective Public History
On the cusp of the October 4th anniversary of the Battle of Germantown, David Young will unfold a story of how this “most historic neighborhood” has figured in public history over the past hundred years. Efforts to preserve and commemorate its Revolutionary War sites and its place in the Underground Railroad, including innovative work in community engagement, have evolved along with the field of public history. David will focus particularly on connections between public history and the local economy.
David W. Young was executive director of the Delaware Historical Society from 2018 to 2023. Before that, he served as executive director of Cliveden and the Johnson House Historic Site in Germantown – winning local, state, and national awards for his work in public history – as well as education director at the Atwater Kent Museum and director of the Salem County Historical Society in New Jersey. He taught for a decade in Penn’s graduate program in historic preservation, and he is currently on the faculty of the History Leadership Institute, an initiative of the American Association for State and Local History. Originally from Chicago, David earned his BA from Northwestern and his MA and PhD from Ohio State. His book, The Battles of Germantown: Effective Public History in America (Temple University Press, 2019), won the Pennsylvania Historical Association’s 2020 Klein Prize. He will have copies available for purchase and signing.
Video: To see a recording of this presentation, click on Play Event. Click on the play button at the bottom left of the screen that comes up to see the presentation.
October 7, Monday Quarterback Luncheon – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.
Skip Schwarzman is our Quarterback.
October 10, Thursday Luncheon Roundtable – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.
Speaker is Page Talbott. Her topic – Philadelphia Revealed: Unpacking the Attic
Page will give us a virtual tour through a remarkable collection that tells the story of the city’s long history. Philadelphia Revealed, at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts through December 1, is an exhibition of 650 objects drawn from the city’s “attic,” the Atwater Kent Collection (formerly the Philadelphia History Museum, now under Drexel’s stewardship). It highlights the Atwater Kent’s strengths – its earliest acquisitions, its eclectic collections, objects from national celebrations, pieces marking the development of city and civic history, Philly sports memorabilia, salvaged relics and materials from manufacturing and retail operations, and ephemera of art and music.
Page Talbott is co-curator of Philadelphia Revealed. She is Director of Museum Outreach at Drexel’s Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships, and she has overseen the evaluation of the Atwater Kent Collection’s 130,000 objects since 2018. A decorative arts historian by training, Page has been a curator and planner for museums, historical societies, and historic house museums for nearly 50 years. She holds a BA from Wellesley, an MA from the University of Delaware/Winterthur Program in Early American Culture, and an MA and PhD in American civilization from Penn. She served as president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania from 2013 to 2016 and was previously associate director of the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary and curator of the Benjamin Franklin Museum at Franklin Court.
Video: To see a recording of this presentation, click on Play Event. Click on the play button at the bottom left of the screen that comes up to see the presentation.
October 14, Monday Quarterback Luncheon – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.
Russell Cooke is our Quarterback.
October 18, Friday Club Dinner – starting at 5:30 p.m.
Speaker is Richard M. Leventhal. His topic – Preserving Cultural Heritage and Rethinking Museums
Richard will describe the destruction of cultural heritage that has been a grim offshoot of armed conflicts in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, and other countries throughout the world. The rise of terrorist organizations and hegemonic nation-states, followed by increased political instability, has placed important cultural sites and irreplaceable museum collections at risk throughout the world. Today, professional stewards in conflict- devastated countries are struggling to protect museum collections and important cultural sites. Understanding the risks to places and objects of heritage in conflict zones leads to understanding the critical need to plan for post- conflict reconstruction of tangible and intangible heritage. It also leads to understanding how heritage can be used to maintain social, cultural, and economic inequalities – and to think about how cultures and heritage are presented in museums today. Who gets to tell the story of past and present cultures? Curators? Descendants of earlier cultural communities? Richard will discuss an example from Mexico, where he has an active field program in the Maya area of the Yucatan.
Richard M. Leventhal is professor of anthropology at Penn and executive director and founder of the Penn Cultural Heritage Center of the Penn Museum. The center provides programs, training, funds, and expertise for several successful, on-the-ground, emergency preservation projects.
October 21, Monday Quarterback Luncheon – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.
Alina Macneal is our Quarterback.
October 24, Thursday Luncheon Roundtable – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.
Speaker is Paul R. Steinke. His topic – Historic Preservation in Philadelphia: Gifts to the Present and Future.
Paul’s daily focus at the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia is the importance of historic preservation in one of the nation’s most historic cities – and how it impacts neighborhood stability, economic growth, tourism, and the city’s image. He will discuss hopes for the future, current projects, and examples of recent policy successes, including the Preservation Alliance’s work to support the Camac Street restoration and the $1.4 million award from Pennsylvania’s Multimodal Transportation Fund to restore other historic paving in Washington Square West.
Paul R. Steinke became executive director of the Preservation Alliance in 2016, after serving on its board of directors for many years. In 2015, he ran for Philadelphia City Council in the Democratic primary. Before that political venture, Paul served for 13 years as general manager of the Reading Terminal Market, founding executive director of the University City District, and a founding staff member and finance director of the Center City District. A lifelong Philadelphian, he holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics from Penn State and an MBA from Drexel. He is currently board treasurer of The Fund for the Water Works and a member of the board for the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, Temple University Libraries, and the NewMarket/Head House Conservancy.
Video: To see a recording of this presentation, click on Play Event. Click on the play button at the bottom left of the screen that comes up to see the presentation.
October 28, Monday Quarterback Luncheon – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.
Patrick Keough is our Quarterback.
October 29 – starting at 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday Movie Night at the Inn. Feature 12 Angry Men.
No charge for admission or snacks and drinks including popcorn, chips, nuts, sodas, beer, and wine. Feature begins at 6:30 p.m.
October 31, Thursday Luncheon Roundtable – 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.
Speaker is Dick Polman. His topic – Democracy at the Crossroads
Veteran political writer Dick Polman shares his thoughts and insights about the 2024 presidential election. He calls it one of the most consequential since the Civil War, seeing our democratic values on the ballot. Questions abound: Why does this race appear to be so close? Can we believe the polls? How can anyone still be “undecided”? Are voters in the seven swing states truly prepared to elect Donald Trump a second time? What will he do if he loses? Can Kamala Harris break the glass ceiling? How much can she accomplish if she wins?
Dick Polman covered presidential campaigns for two decades at The Philadelphia Inquirer as a reporter and columnist before moving his column to WHYY News. He currently analyzes politics on dickpolman.net, his independent website, where his work is nationally syndicated. And since 2006, he has been Writer in Residence at the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing at Penn, where he teaches political journalism.
Video: To see a recording of this presentation, click on Play Event. Click on the play button at the bottom left of the screen that comes up to see the presentation.