Founded in 1999, the York County Cultural Alliance has been working hard to create a vibrant and thriving community. From New Freedom to Hanover, from Center to East, the Alliance has been providing a platform for exchanging ideas and opinions in an open and challenging environment. When it comes to beliefs, they can take many forms - religious, philosophical, political, intellectual and emotional. These beliefs shape our public identity, but long-standing conventions have dictated that we leave our faith at the door of our public life.
How is this changing? What can science, religion, public opinion and politics teach us about the nature of what we believe and why we believe it? This week, we face some of the most difficult questions about ourselves, others and the world in which we must live together. The infrastructure of a society is essential for its functioning. However, it can become mundane and unappealing. After the passage of the Infrastructure Employment and Investment Act, we are presented with a report card on the progress made to shore up, revitalize and reinvent the systems and structures that sustain American society.
We will discuss planes, trains and cars as well as roads, bridges, public services and more. We will also ask if it is necessary to expand our definition of “infrastructure”. What will the infrastructure of the future look like and what places are leading the way? Of all art forms, literature enjoys a special kind of permanence and authority. It creates canons for generation after generation to study, enjoy and interpret.
With new technologies, new genres and innovations in form and practice, literature can acquire new meaning for new readers. Who or what gives literature that meaning? How has literature provided a lens for our past and imagined our future? Steeped in the 150-year-old literary tradition of Chautauqua, this week we explore the life of literature and how the literature of tomorrow is being shaped today. In 1872, two years before Chautauqua was founded, President Ulysses S. Grant signed into law a bill that would create the first national park in the United States - Yellowstone National Park.
Now there are more than 400 sites across the country that honor not only the land but also the stories of countless peoples of the United States. How has this “best idea” been adapted and developed? What can parks offer in our current moment? From addressing conservation issues to protecting our cultural and natural histories, how are national parks modeling how to deal with challenges of our time? Freedom of expression is a hallmark of democracy. This week we explore how imagination is one of the most powerful tools of expression. Interdisciplinary and intergenerational experiences in arts, religion, education and recreation will guide us in this week-long celebration of diverse perspectives and aspirations for what may well be some of democracy's most deep-seated values and privileges.
The Arts Council offers art classes at the Arts Center as well as workshops in unexpected places such as craft breweries. The artist has performed and exhibited at many renowned institutions such as MASS MoCA, The New Museum in New York City, The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, The Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, The Long Island City Sculpture Center and The List Center for Visual Arts at MIT in Cambridge. Writers from York have organized a very special event which brings together some of UK's most radical poets in a series of collaborative performances. Are there any art groups in York County that offer public speaking engagements or lectures? Yes! The Berthoud annual conference with Professor Peter Boxall (University of Sussex) is one such event where ideas are exchanged in an open environment with an expert audience having an opportunity to participate in question-answer sessions at the end. The International Centre for Narrative Studies (ICNS) seminar series on narrative theory topics also features guest speaker Jan Alber (RWTH Aachen), a specialist in unnatural narratology who has been president of International Society for Study of Narrative. York County is home to many organizations that promote arts, literature, infrastructure development and democracy through public speaking engagements or lectures.
The Berthoud annual conference with Professor Peter Boxall (University of Sussex) provides an open platform for exchanging ideas with an expert audience having an opportunity to participate in question-answer sessions at the end. The International Centre for Narrative Studies (ICNS) seminar series on narrative theory topics also features guest speaker Jan Alber (RWTH Aachen), a specialist in unnatural narratology who has been president of International Society for Study of Narrative. The Arts Council offers art classes at their Arts Center as well as workshops at craft breweries around York County. They have also hosted renowned artists who have performed or exhibited at institutions such as MASS MoCA, The New Museum in New York City, The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, The Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, The Long Island City Sculpture Center and The List Center for Visual Arts at MIT in Cambridge. Writers from York have organized a very special event which brings together some of UK's most radical poets in a series of collaborative performances. The Infrastructure Employment and Investment Act has provided us with a report card on progress made to shore up systems that sustain American society such as roads, bridges, public services etc., while expanding our definition of “infrastructure” to include planes, trains and cars. The 150-year-old literary tradition of Chautauqua provides us with an opportunity to explore life through literature by studying its canons while adapting new technologies to acquire new meaning for new readers. National parks offer us solutions to conservation issues while protecting our cultural and natural histories by modeling how to deal with challenges faced by society today. Finally freedom of expression is celebrated through interdisciplinary experiences such as arts, religion education etc., which provide us with diverse perspectives on democracy's most deep-seated values.
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