Join Laura Arnold Leibman, Professor in American Jewish Studies at Princeton University, on Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 4:30 pm in Linderman 200! The Revolutionary War divided Jews politically, but scholars have tended only to focus on what Jewish men thought or did. In this talk, Leibman uses schoolgirl samplers to reveal how Jewish girls crafted religious and political messages about the war. Many Jews sheltered in Pennsylvania, and consequently the region's sampler traditions influenced Jews’ wartime image making. After the war, as Jews returned to their old cities, they carried the Pennsylvania traditions with them.

Learn more from our co-sponsor: Berman Center for Jewish Studies!

Join The Lawrence Henry Gipson Institute for Eighteenth-Century Studies and the Health, Medicine, and Society Program for this compelling speaker series. Guests will explore the dynamic interplay of disease, healing, and well-being on both sides of the Atlantic during a pivotal era of scientific, social, and cultural transformation. From emerging medical theories to lived experiences, this series uncovers the profound impact of health on the long eighteenth century.

Fall 2025 Events

Wed, Nov 5, 2025
4:30 pm in STEPS 101
Putting Science to Work: Women Healers’ Pursuit of Medical Knowledge in Eighteenth-Century Philadelphia with Dr. Susan H. Brandt

Wed, Nov 19, 2025
4:30 om in STEPS 101
Stewing Alive: Public Bathing, Mineral Spas, and the Curative Commons in the British Atlantic World with Dr. Amanda Herbert

Spring 2026 Events

Mon, Mar 2, 2026
4:30 pm in STEPS 101
Weapon of the Weak or an Abuse of Power by the Strong: Contested Idioms in Atlantic Poisoning Events with Dr. Chelsea Berry

Tue, Apr 14, 2026
4:30 pm in STEPS 101
Before Disability: Insanity, Race, and Rights in the Early United States with Dr. Sari Altschuler

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Early Moravians wanted to stay out of current events and focus on their spirituality, but that changed when the Continental Army came knocking, says Scott Paul Gordon, English professor and avid researcher of Colonial-postcolonial studies and Moravian history. “The war comes in, and suddenly this place that has nobody but Moravians living here has hundreds of non-Moravians in the Brethren’s House and troops coming through all the time and famous visitors are staying at the Sun Inn,” Gordon said of the Revolutionary War impact on the community.

Read story from Lehigh Valley News

Co-sponsored by the Gipson Institute and the Global Studies Program are these upcoming speakers:

Fall 2024

Professor Eric Tagliacozzo, History, Cornell University 
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Spring 2025

Professor Molly Greene, History, Princeton University
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Professor Rebekah Mitsein, English, Boston College
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Professor James Mulholland, English, North Carolina State University
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