ANNUAL EVENT SERIES: CITIES IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Sepia and grayscale photos of Philadelphia, color photos of Shibuya and Singapore.

The Lepage Center will spend the 2023 – 2024 academic year exploring diverse and interconnected historical perspectives on cities.


The series of panels and talks will examine several historical topics including questions of race and class in the American city, as well as historical perspectives on European cities, port cities, postcolonial cities, immigration and cities, Chinatown in Philadelphia, and labor in cities. The series will showcase the ways in which historians have engaged the multifaceted sociocultural and political-economic dimensions of cities in their work, and how the city's place in society has changed over time.

 

Fall 2023 Cities in Historical Perspective Events

Titles link to registration for upcoming events

Tuesday, September 26, 6:00 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.: Race and Class in the American City

Featuring

  • Menika Dirkson, PhD, Morgan State University Assistant Professor of History & Geography
  • Rob Gioielli, PhD, University of Cincinnati Associate Professor of History and Director of the UC Blue Ash Honors Program
  • Amanda Boston, PhD, University of Pittsburgh Assistant Professor of Africana Studies
  • Moderator: Paul C. Rosier, PhD, Villanova History Professor and Director of the Albert Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest

 

Wednesday, October 18, 4:30 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.: Post-War Cities in Historical Perspective

Featuring

Thursday, November 16, 6:00 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.: Public Health and Cities in Historical Perspective

Featuring

  • Andrew Wehrman, PhD, Central Michigan University Associate Professor of History
  • Cindy Ermus, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio Director of Medical Humanities program and Assistant Professor of History
  • David Barnes, PhD, University of Pennsylvania Associate Professor of History
  • Moderator: Julia Mansfield, PhD, Villanova University Assistant Professor of History

The following panels and talks are other standalone events with the shared interest of a more historically-informed public, but fall outside of the topic of Cities in Historical Perspective.

Thursday, September 14th, 6:00 p.m. - 7:15 p.m.: Fashion in Historical Perspective

Featuring

  • Emanuele Lugli, PhD, Stanford University Assistant Professor of History and Art History
  • BuYun Chen, PhD, Swarthmore University Associate Professor of History and Asian Studies
  • Alexandra Schwartz, PhD, Museum of Arts and Design, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Craft, and Design
  • Moderated by Tim McCall, PhD, Villanova University Professor of Art History and Director of Art History Program

 

Thursday, October 5th, 6:00 p.m. - 7:15 p.m.: Classroom Censorship in Historical Perspective

Featuring

  • Dana Goldstein, New York Times, National correspondent on family policy and demographics
  • Jonathan Zimmerman, PhD, University of Pennsylvania Judy and Howard Berkowitz Professor in Education and Professor of History of Education
  • Adam Laats, PhD, SUNY Binghamton Professor of Teaching, Learning, and Educational Leadership

 

Tuesday, November 2nd, 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.: Odesa and Ukraine in Historical Perspective

Featuring

  • Bob Weinberg, PhD, Isaac H. Clothier Professor of History and International Relations and Honors Program Director at Swarthmore College
  • Inga Saffron, Architecture Critic at The Philadelphia Inquirer
  • Moderated by Paul C. Rosier, PhD, Villanova University Professor of History and Director of the Lepage Center

 

Wednesday, November 8th, 6:00 p.m. - 7:15 p.m.: Speculative Fiction in Historical Perspective (Driscoll Hall Rm 132, Larson Kelly Auditorium)

Featuring

  • Heather Hicks, PhD, Villanova University Professor of English and Chair of the English Department
  • Travis M. Foster, PhD, Villanova University Associate Professor of English and Academic Director of Gender & Women's Studies
  • Patricia Lott, PhD, Ursinus University Assistant Professor of American Studies, African American and Africana Studies, and English
  • Moderated by Maghan Keita, PhD, Villanova University Professor of History and Global Interdisciplinary Studies, Founding Director of Africana Studies and Global Interdisciplinary Studies

 

Tuesday, December 5th, 6:00 p.m. - 7:15 p.m.: Videogames in Historical Perspective

Featuring

Spring 2024 Cities in Historical Perspective Events

Wednesday, February 7th, 6:30 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.: Postcolonial Cities in Historical Perspective

Featuring

  • Garth A. Myers, PhD, Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of Urban International Studies and Director of the Center for Urban and Global Studies, Trinity College
  • Nikhil Rao, PhD, Associate Professor of History, Wellesley College
  • Sarah Moser, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, McGill University
  • Moderator: Étienne Achille, PhD, Associate Professor and Director of French and Francophone Studies, Villanova University

Wednesday, March 13th, 6:00 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.: Immigration and Cities in Historical Perspective

Featuring

  • Uzma Quraishi, PhD, Associate Professor of History, Sam Houston State University
  • Lilia Fernández, PhD, Professor of History, University of  Illinois Chicago
  • Maddalena Marinari, PhD, Professor and Chair in History; Professor in Peace Studies and Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies; Research, Scholarship and Creativity Faculty Associate in John S Kendall Center, Gustavus Adolphus College
  • Moderator: Daniel Cortes, JD, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of Clinic for Asylum, Refugee and Emigrant Services (CARES)

Wednesday, April 24th, 6:00 p.m. - 7:15 p.m.: Philadelphia's Chinatown: Past, Present, and Future

Featuring

  • Inga Saffron, Architecture Critic, The Philadelphia Inquirer
  • Mary Yee, EdD, Activist and Educator
  • Dominic Vitiello, PhD, Associate Professor, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania
  • Moderator: Andrew Liu, PhD, Associate Professor of History, Villanova University

The following panels and talks are other standalone events with the shared interest of a more historically-informed public, but fall outside of the topic of Cities in Historical Perspective.

Wednesday, January 31st, 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Interviews with Georgians and Ukrainians: A Villanova grad documents the impact of Russian wars

Featuring

  • Lucy Minicozzi-Wheeland, CLAS '19 (Global Interdisciplinary Studies: Russian Area Studies) current Harvard University graduate student studying Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia, and Invited Faculty at Gori State Unviersity in Georgia
  • Moderated by Mike Westrate, PhD Assistant Vice Provost, Graduate Education & Research; Assistant Professor, Department of History and Honors Program; Faculty Fellow, Russian Area Studies

 

Wednesday, February 21st, 5:00 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.: History and the Law

Featuring

  • Ellen Ratigan, JD, Assistant General Counsel, Dechert LLP
  • Jessica Webb, JD, Profesor of Law at Charles Widger School of Law, Villanova University
  • Abel Garza, JD, adjunct professor at Charles Widger School of Law and in the History Department, Villanova University
  • Moderated by Elizabeth Kolsky, PhD, Associate Professor, Villanova University History Department

Tuesday, March 19th, 6:00 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.: Baseball, America and the World

Featuring

  • Tom Zeiler, PhD, Professor of History, Director of International Affairs Program, and Interim Director of the Center of the American West at University of Colorado, Boulder
  • Sayuri Guthrie Shimizu, PhD, Dunlevie Family Chair and Professor of History at Rice University
  • Daniel A. Gilbert, PhD, Associate Professor of History at the School of Labor & Employment Relations, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
  • Moderated by Marc Gallicchio, PhD, Professor and Mary M. Birle Chair in American History at Villanova University

Further Events To Be Announced

  

The Lepage Center records most of their events, making them accessible to the wider community. You can watch these recorded events on YouTube.