The Humanities Symposium and Wildwood Writers’ Festival celebrates learning and creativity through works by talented presenters from various genres, including writing, the humanities and other disciplines.
The festival is free and open to the public.
For the first time ever, the Humanities Symposium and Wildwood Writers’ Festival will join forces for “Real and Imagined Worlds.”
The event will be held in person April 1-2, 2025, from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on HACC’s Lancaster Campus, East Building, Room 203.
The event will also be livestreamed on Zoom at the following link: https://hacc.zoom.us/j/96475014419
Live viewing parties will be held on the following locations:
Please note the following schedule is tentative and subject to change.
April 1, 2025
8 a.m.: Mike Corradino
9 a.m.: Seth Martin
10 a.m.: Jill Graybill
11 a.m.: Cindy Rose
Noon: Lyra Neville
1 p.m.: Brad Baeshore
2 p.m.: Elisabeth Velasquez
3 p.m.: Carl Kaucher
4 p.m.: John Flavin
April 2, 2025
8 a.m.: Steve Lustig
9 a.m.: John Cline
10 a.m.: Charles Comer
11 a.m.: Julie Moffitt
Noon: HACC Film and Theatre Program Students
12:30 p.m.: Music by John Castner and J.B. Beaumont
1 p.m.: Matthew Eberhart
2 p.m.: Kim Green
3 p.m.: Stock Weinstock-Collins
4 p.m.: Tina Crane
Brad Baeshore, “Beasts of Both Worlds: When Nature Outweirds Fiction”
Mythical and sci-fi creatures may seem outlandish, but real animals can be just as strange - if not stranger. We will explore real and literary beasts, showing that evolution often writes the wildest stories.
John Cline, “Post-War Prometheus”
In the imagined world of Mount Olympus, the story of Prometheus assumes that the fire of the gods was something worth stealing, but what if the gods were a lost and self-deceived generation and their fire was nothing more than a sad, smoky ember? HACC art professor John Cline documents the creation of a painting that reimagines the Promethean myth as a still life arrangement set in the real world after the Vietnam War.
Charles Comer, “The Worlds of Cezanne and Rilke”
In the fall of 1907, the poet Rainer Maria Rilke was staying in Paris, where nearly every day he would visit a gallery that was showing the work of the Impressionist painter Paul Cezanne. He would write letters to his wife of his thoughts after spending time with Cezanne's work and how these paintings affected him. In these letters, I believe we witness an enchantment of life, of falling in love with things. Cezanne, too, had a similar philosophy toward painting the world. In this talk I consider the way in which the worlds of Cezanne and Rilke come together and what we might take away from this encounter.
Mike Corradino, “An Exploration of Alternate Histories in TV and Film”
Have you ever wondered “What if?” What might have happened had historical events played out differently? What might have happened had you made a different decision at a critical juncture of your life? What if you could go back in time and change something about the past? We will explore how these ideas have been explored in television and cinema like “The Man in the High Castle,” “Yesterday,” “C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America” and “For All Mankind.
Matthew Eberhart, “Cosmic PA”
This session will discuss world building as a creative thinking technique in writing. Based on the philosophy of H.P. Lovecraft, audience members will learn about, create and suggest additions to a shared cosmic-horror Pennsylvania world.
John Flavin, “Rolling the Dice: Exploring the Sociology of Dungeons and Dragons”
This presentation will provide an examination of the social, cognitive and emotional benefits of tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs). Topics addressed will include the application of social rules, the fulfillment of social needs and racial and religious tolerance.
Jill Graybill, "Dancing the Night Away: Famous Music Clubs"
Since the birth of swing music, dance halls and nightclubs have played an important part of America’s musical history, providing a magical world to dance and forget the outside world. Learn about iconic clubs such as the Savoy, The Cotton Club, Studio 54, Copacabana, Whiskey a Go Go, CBGB and more!
Kim Green, "Blurring the Lines between Real and Imagined Worlds: Magical Realism"
What if the magical were as real as the mundane? This presentation explores how magical realism blurs the boundary between the real and the imagined, offering insights into history, culture and identity.
Steve Lustig, “Law in a Looking Glass: Navigating Rights and Realities in Virtual Worlds”
Seth Martin, “Daydreaming with Snoopy and Charlie Brown”
A common trope throughout the Peanuts comic strip involves characters imagining a world different from the one in which they live. This presentation explores selected comic strips that investigate the reactions of characters to their imagined worlds and the effect this creates in the real world of the characters and the real and imagined worlds of readers.
Julie Moffitt, "Reflections on Cancer Survival, Poetic Journeys, and a Whimsical Encounter with Chopin"
Julie Moffitt will share selections from her book “Cancer without Fear,” exploring alternative strategies for confronting life’s harsh realities. Her poetry weaves together reflections on the tangible world as well as the possibilities of imagination. To conclude, she will present an excerpt from her fantasy story featuring an encounter with the legendary composer Chopin.
Lyra Neville, “Dream Excerpts”
This presentation is motivated by a desire to express dream experience in a way that is creatively satisfying to the presenter and of possible interest to others. No effort is made to analyze or interpret - whether the presented content is “missive” or “digestive” (did I eat a bad burrito?) is open to speculation.
Cindy Rose, “Tormented Loveliness: Revisiting the ‘Monstrous’ Females of Mythology”
Originally presented as monsters in ancient western mythology, many female mythic figures including Tiamat and Medusa are being studied from fresh perspectives. Contemporary film, literature, games, visual art, advertising, products and popular culture invite us to revisit these “monsters.” What did they represent to the ancient world, and how do we interpret their roles today?
Stock Weinstock-Collins, Live Cello Performance
Please contact Kim Allen Gleed with any questions at kmalleng@hacc.edu.