The Seminary Explores

Dr. Janet Powers, Professor Emerita of Interdisciplinary and Women's Studies specializing in Indian religion and literature at Gettysburg College joins Katy Giebenhain for a conversation about her book Kites Over the Mango Tree: Restoring Harmony Between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat. Powers is a certified conflict resolution mediator and has worked with women's peace-building organizations in India, Palestine, Israel, Haiti, South Africa, and Estonia. Her PhD is from University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has received many awards including a Peacemaker of the Year Award from the Interfaith Center for Peace and Justice, the inaugural Outstanding Contribution Award by Gettysburg Connection for Mediation Services of Adams County, and a YWCA Gettysburg Adams County Callie Award. Powers is the author of scholarly articles and poems as well as three books. You can also hear Dr. Powers speak about her experience of being a woman in academia on the Tell Us A Story podcast.

Author Gregory Christianson shares the development of his newest book Gettysburg Fast Facts for Kids and Families. The story of Gettysburg is told through the eyes of children. He discussed how his interest in the Civil War began and his desire to make the Gettysburg visit experience accessible to children. His inclusion of the contributions of woman and African Americans are pieces of the Gettysburg narrative often omitted when talking about the war. Although the book is designed for children it is a basic book of facts that is helpful to adults as well. 

Award-winning vocalist, writer and multi-genre performing artist Queen Esther joins Katy Giebenhain for a conversation about her developing one person show and what’s been visible and not visible in her first impressions of Gettysburg. A winter artist-in-residence at the Gettysburg National Military Park, Queen Esther is based in New York City. Jazz, Blues, Black Americana, alt-rock, swing, gospel and beyond – these are the musical waters she swims in. Among her extensive collaborations is the avant-blues duo Hoosegow she formed with guitarist Elliott Sharp. Blues Matters Magazine calls her “… modern, yet not flashy while holding true to herself with firmness and a forthright approach and style.”

Many thanks to our host site for this interview, Waldo’s and Co. on the Square in Gettysburg.  The Artist-in-Residence program is made possible by the Gettysburg Foundation and The National Park Arts Foundation, with support from the National Park Service.

Special thanks also to The Seminary Ridge Museum.

Jason Hatch is a retired U.S. Army soldier who served for 20 years including in Iraq and later as a military attaché at embassies in sub-Saharan Africa, before retiring as a major in 2013.  Jason shares his personal journey and how his experiences led him to advocate for those children who find themselves caught in the horror of war as victims and even as soldiers themselves. His recent work includes a drama called Rope Tension about two Civil War drummer boys, one Union and one Confederate, thrown together one night after a battle.  Jason was the Artist in Residence at the Gettysburg National Military Park in early 2020.

Additional thanks to the Seminary Ridge Museum on historic Seminary Ridge in Gettysburg, PA.

Dr. Christian B. Keller, Professor of History and General Dwight D. Eisenhower Chair of National Security, Department of National Security and Strategy, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, PA, and author of The Great Partnership: Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and the Fate of the Confederacy, argues that the Christian connection between Lee and Jackson was a significant glue that bonded the two generals’ friendship, and this in turn supported their strong professional relationship. Although one was Episcopal and the other a Presbyterian, they were both firm believers in Divine Providence, and as evangelical providentialists, were not that different from many Americans of that era.

Fresh from a day of hanging large format portraits of Garmair Marines in the woods near the National Park Visitor Center, documentary photographer and film-maker Louie Palu took time for a chat with Katy Giebenhain and The Seminary Explores. Palu has navigated combat zones, mining shafts, Arctic terrain and many other sites and situations in his role as artist and photojournalist. For his mid-July to mid-August 2019 residency on the Gettysburg Battlefield he installed the portraits (taken in Afghanistan) and began new work in response to his experience in Gettysburg. Palu’s many awards include a Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting Grant (2012) to cover the Mexican Drug War and a Milton Rogovin Fellowship at the Center for Creative Photography.

The Artist-in-Residence program is made possible by the Gettysburg Foundation and The National Park Arts Foundation, with support from the National Park Service

On their own they are each brilliant. Together – doubly so. In a conversation with Katy Giebenhain poets Corey Van Landingham and Christopher Kempf talk about their current projects, the nitty-gritty details that ground creative work, the expectations of war poetry and what a learning pleasure it is to be back in Gettysburg where each of them has previously taught. The couple was awarded a joint residency in the Gettysburg National Military Park by the National Parks Arts Foundation.

The Artist-in-Residence program is made possible by the Gettysburg Foundation and The National Park Arts Foundation, with support from the National Park Service.

Many thanks to our host site for this interview, Waldo’s and Co. on the Square in Gettysburg.

Gettysburg photographer and resident Gregory Christianson talks about his new children’s book, Gettysburg Kids Who Did the Impossible. Christianson has walked Seminary Ridge and other sections of the Battlefield since he was a child. While working as an inn-keeper in Gettysburg he was frequently asked to recommend books for children about the Battle of Gettysburg. This led to his own research and discoveries, and to a book which fulfills what he had so often been asked to provide.

Thank you to Waldo’s on the Square, our host site for this episode.

James McCarthy tells stories – in more ways than you can shake a stick at. He also cultivates storytelling in others. A singer-songwriter, member of the Screen Actors Guild and Master Teaching Artist in the state of Hawaii, McCarthy joined Katy Giebenhain for a Seminary Explores conversation during his fall 2018 artist residency at the Gettysburg National Military Park. With a master’s in education from Harvard, an MFA in acting from University of Hawaii at Manoa, and a BFA in Music from Lesley University, his training and experience spans genres and time zones.

Thanks to our host site for this interview, Waldo’s and Co. on the square in Gettysburg. The Artist-in-Residence program is made possible by the Gettysburg Foundation and The National Park Arts Foundation, with support from the National Park Service.

This may sound like unexpected advice from a Photographer, but what you think is stunning could get even better. It is one of many tips Jim Schlett discusses with Katy Giebenhain in this conversation. The Virginia-based artist-in-residence at the Gettysburg National Military Park for late summer 2018 shares perspectives from commercial and art photography and extensive visits to National Parks across the country. This year, four artist residencies at four different locations share a link to President Abraham Lincoln. Schlett has been attending daily ranger talks, interacting with visitors and Park staff, and, of course, taking many pictures.

Thanks to our host site for this interview, Waldo’s and Co. on the square in Gettysburg.