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American Philosophical Society: “Electing the President: The Debates on the Electoral College at the Constitutional Convention of 1787” and “A Walking Tour of the Constitution in Old City” with Warren Hofstra, Mohammad Obeid, and Kevin Hardwick, September 16-17
September 16, 2022 @ 10:00 am - September 17, 2022 @ 12:00 pm
The American Philosophical Society will be hosting a Virtual Reality Constitutional Convention Event and Lunch on September 16th at 10am and a Constitution Constitutional: A Walking Tour of the Constitution in Old City on September 16 at 1:30pm. and the 17th at 11:00am.
“Electing the President: The Debates on the Electoral College at the Constitutional Convention of 1787”
Participant(s): Professors Warren Hofstra and Mohammad Obeid of Shenandoah University, and Kevin Hardwick of James Madison University
Date: Friday, September 16 at 10:00a.m.
Join us to celebrate Constitution Day 2022 with a special Lunch at the Library event highlighting a collaborative effort among a group of historians, immersive technology engineers, theater personnel, and media directors along with large numbers of students at Shenandoah University and James Madison University to create a participatory virtual reality (VR) “experience” of the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
The event will consist of two parts. The first is an opportunity to experience a virtual reconstruction of the 1787 Constitutional Convention. The experience will take place from 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. in the President’s Room in Benjamin Franklin Hall (427 Chestnut St.). Those who wish to participate must sign up for a half-hour time slot, which are limited to 15 people each and are available on a first come, first served basis.
The second part of the program will consist of a lunch presentation with Professors Warren Hofstra and Mohammad Obeid of Shenandoah University, and Kevin Hardwick of James Madison University, who will address the challenges of VR production and engineering, its educational and academic applications, and the strengths and weaknesses of VR for presenting and interpreting history. A full description of the presentation may be found below.
Lunch will be provided. You do not need to participate in the VR experience to attend the lunch talk, but registration is required.
The talk will also be livestreamed via Zoom webinar for those who are unable or do not wish to attend in-person. Those wishing to participate via livestream must register separately via Zoom to receive the link. Zoom registration may be completed here.
**NOTE: In-person program attendees must provide proof of vaccination upon arrival. Those planning to attend should consult the APS’s website for the most up-to-date policies regarding COVID-19. Full details are listed on our website.**
Questions may be sent to Adrianna Link, Head of Scholarly Programs, at alink@amphilsoc.org.
Constitution Constitutional: A Walking Tour of the Constitution in Old City
Participants: APS Education Staff
Date: Friday, September 16 at 1:30 p.m. & Saturday, September 17 at 11:00 a.m.
Registration required and limited to 10 participants per tour. Please sign-up using this Registration Link.
While not debating and drafting the Constitution in 1787, the delegates spent time eating, drinking, gathering, shopping, and wandering around Philadelphia. Residents of the diverse and thriving port city mostly kept to their regular habits while absorbing news of the convention through varied sources and gatherings of their own. Some of these locations have been replaced while others have been preserved, making a guided tour through Old City the ideal way to absorb some of this constitutional history.
Join APS Educators as they lead a constitutional of, well, the U.S. Constitution. The walking tour will pull from APS resources on the convention, the delegates, city history, and more to give participants a broad overview of the summer of 1787. The backdrop of Philadelphia’s Historic District’s grounds, buildings, and markers will provide locations for conversation, historical information, and more along the way!
This program will be an hour and a half long: one hour of walking and storytelling with a half hour for conversation and sharing. Please note that the path will take us over some uneven surfaces and opportunities to sit will be limited.
The walking tour will start at the Society’s Jefferson Garden. Then, the guided walk will be approximately one mile around Independence National Historical Park and end back at the Jefferson Garden.