Activities for the semiquincentennial will continue into the fall, with art exhibits, courses, nationally renowned speakers, workshops, and musical programming.
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Image: Franziska Spiecker/picture-alliance/dpa via AP Images
Planning for America’s 250th birthday began several years ago on Penn’s campus, with organizers from the Penn Libraries, schools, and centers looking beyond the singular moment in the country’s history.
“America 250 has been an opportunity for the Penn community to reflect thoughtfully and critically on our country’s past, its ideals, its successes, and its failures, and use what we have learned to imagine how we might remake our country and our ourselves to form a more perfect union,” says Lynne Farrington, director of programs and senior curator of special collections with Penn Libraries, who has been leading the efforts of America 250 at Penn.
“It has been a collective effort, engaging a creative and committed group of faculty, staff, and students in exploring all aspects of our history—from printing the Declaration using old technologies to publishing and presenting new scholarship, from close examination of documents in the classroom to exhibitions and contemporary artwork reflecting on the politics and culture of earlier periods, and their impact on the present and future of this country,” she says.
Over the last year, Penn’s faculty, staff, and students have:
Opened exhibits and a brand-new museum that recall an earlier Revolutionary era and Philadelphia’s early history
Taken multiple courses and held scholarly forums shedding light on America’s past
Published a new three-volume book series about the history of Philadelphia
But just as the Revolution wasn’t over after July 4, 1776, the semiquincentennial isn’t finished. Related events, programs, projects, and courses will all continue at Penn through December, including the highlights below—all tracked on the America 250 at Penn website.
Speaker series: ‘A Republic, If You Can Keep It’
A speaker series will continue this fall celebrating America’s anniversary——“‘A Republic, If You Can Keep It’—Ben Franklin: A Celebration as America Turns 250”—that brings together experts to explore topics related to Penn founder Benjamin Franklin’s ideals of useful knowledge, scientific innovation, and health care and the common good. One event will showcase Franklin and his ideals himself. The series, hosted by Perry World House, began this spring with an expert panel on the future of higher education.
Courses spanning the breadth of history
Penn students have a wide range of 250-themed courses to consider, on topics including local history, nationhood, race and ethnicity, and more. The fall course selection period ends Sept. 8. A sampling of the courses include:
Running July 3 to 5, WXPN will hold The Philly 250 programming series, counting down the top 250 songs by, about, and from Philadelphia. Highlights will include David Bowie’s recording of “Young Americans” and Pearl Jam’s performance at the Spectrum.
When the Schuylkill swallowed the city: Lessons from Hurricane Ida’s historic flood
New Penn research shows that Hurricane Ida wasn’t a once-in-a-century anomaly but a preview of how climate change, urbanization, and aging infrastructure are rewriting flood risk.
The Fed explained: What it does and why it matters
Former Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker and financial historian Peter Conti-Brown, both Wharton professors, unpack the central bank’s origins, its unusual structure, and the quiet ways it shapes the economy
How population changes are impacting primary education worldwide
Research from Penn sociologist Emily Hannum and colleagues reveals regional trends in whether school-age populations are increasing, plateauing, or decreasing—and shows how different countries are responding.
A bioengineered bean gum from the lab of Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell is found to reduce the levels of three microbes associated with head and neck squamous cell cancer to almost zero, without affecting the beneficial bacteria normally found in the mouth.
Fighting oral cancer with bioengineered chewing gum
Research led by Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell shows that antiviral and antibacterial chewing gums reduce the levels of three microbes linked to worse outcomes in oral cancers, paving the way for more effective and affordable therapies.
