“UNFINISHED WORK” OF CIVIL WAR EXAMINED ACROSS PENNSYLVANIA

HARRISBURG, PA – On November 19, 1863, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, President Abraham Lincoln challenged the United States to dedicate itself to the unfinished work of the soldiers who had given their lives in the Civil War: “It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.”

In many ways the “unfinished work” Lincoln spoke of is still unfinished. That is why the state of Pennsylvania is providing an opportunity to begin a dialogue about the effects of the Civil War on America by instituting a year long book discussion series entitled “Unfinished Work.” The series will explore the themes of slavery and freedom, as well as women and the war, communities under siege, and memory and commemoration.

Organized by Pennsylvania’s Quest for Freedom network and the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, the Unfinished Work Book Discussion Series will take place during four “Live and Learn” weekends at selected sites across Pennsylvania. On Friday evening a scholar will introduce the weekend’s featured book and lead a discussion. On Saturday, the scholar will lead a tour of Underground Railroad and Civil War sites and then relate the books to the sites visited.

The first Live and Learn weekend is February 8th and 9th. Visitors to Philadelphia, Lancaster, Pittsburgh and Erie can join a book discussion on The Price of a Child, by Lorene Cary and then tour sites linked to this movement at the core of America’s quest for freedom.

“The Underground Railroad experience in Pennsylvania is deep and broad and must be understood as an expression of our county’s commitment to freedom,” said Lenwood Sloan, Director of Cultural and Heritage Tourism Programming for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic. “These weekends give interested individuals an opportunity to participate in discussions led by scholars and experience guided tours through history.”

Additional weekends throughout 2008 will continue these dialogues:

• February 8 – 9: The Price of a Child by Lorraine Cary
  
  
• April 4 – 5: The Colors of Courage by Margaret Creighton
  
  
• June 20 – 21: Forever Free by Eric Foner
  
  
• August 15 – 16: Lincoln and Democracy by Harold Holzer & Mario Cuomo

Several of these weekends will feature book signings by the authors. The following scholars will lead the book discussions at each location.

• Pittsburgh: Dr. Katherine Ayres, Lecturer in English/Writing and Coordinator of the Writing for Children and Adolescents Program at Chatham University.
  (April 4-5 - Dr. Lesley Gordon, Professor of History at the University of Akron, OH)
  
  
• Lancaster County: Dr. Louise Stevenson, Professor of History and American Studies at Franklin and Marshall College
  
  
• Philadelphia: Dr. LaTonya Thames-Taylor, Frederick Douglass Scholar and History Professor at West Chester University.
  
  
• Erie: Dr David Dixon, Professor of History and Director of the Old Stone House at Slippery Rock University. Slippery Rock University

The Pennsylvania Humanities Council (PHC) and Jump Street, Inc. are cosponsors of the Quest for Freedom Live and Learn Weekends. PHC will curate and facilitate the Unfinished Work Book Discussion Series and Jump Street will provide trained dialogue facilitators and first person living history personas to animate the events and engage you in this important dialogue

Each weekend features great room rates, heritage tours, museum exhibits, reenactments, and restaurant outings. For more information or to join a Live and Learn Weekend, please visit www.visitpa.com/freedom.