Virtual Lecture Series: Cultures of Independence
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Virtual Lecture Series: Cultures of Independence
Over the course of the summer of 2015, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, along with its partners the National Constitution Center, the National Park Service, the Philadelphia History Museum, and the National Archives, hosted Cultures of Independence: Perspectives on Independence Hall and the Meaning of Freedom, a teacher workshop funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and Wells Fargo.
On this page you can watch and listen to a majority of the lectures from that workshop. The guest faculty included such prominent historians as Dr. Gary Nash and Dr. Charlene Mires, among many others. The topics of the lectures range from the history of the Liberty Bell in American memory, the history of African-Americans in revolutionary and early 19th century Philadelphia, to the history of Civil Rights activism in the North. We invite you to sit back and to soak up the wisdom being offered by our guest lecturers, in our Virtual Lecture Series: Cultures of Independence: Perspectives on Independence Hall and the Meaning of Freedom.
Cultures of Independence was made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website or during the institutes, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Additional funding was provided by Wells Fargo through HEAD for the Future, its partnership with HSP, and by Independence National Historical Park.
 Professor Nash discusses the history and the evolution of the Liberty Bell as an American Icon - from Statehouse bell into an international symbol of freedom. |
 Professor Harris gives his perspective on the civil rights movement in the North, showing its similarites to its Southern counterpart, but also showing the different nature of the struggle for equality in the North. |
 Professor Randall Miller discusses how African-Americans interacted within and apart from Philadelphia society during the antebellum era. |
 Professor Charlene Mires discusses the many histories of Independence Hall, from the Colonial State House to the present. |
 Professor Charlene Mires discusses the modern-day creation of the space known as Independence Mall. |
 Professor Thomas Sugrue tells the story of the civil rights movement in the North and shows that, while the methods of resistance may have been similar to those used in the South; the nature of the struggle for equality in the North was vastly different. |
 Holly Holst tells the less well-known story of the Women's suffrage campaign symbolic use of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell to secure the right to vote for women. |
 Dr. Emma Lapsansky presents the changing meaning and scope of historical symbols, celebrations, and collections over time. |