ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳

Drone view of south campus

About the Institute

The Institute for ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ History and World Heritage at ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳

Overview

The Institute will support scholarly research, public programs, and academic partnerships through conferences, degree and certificate programs, and partnerships with institutions such as the ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Archives. It will be led by an executive director appointed by President Grigsby and supported by an advisory board comprising representatives from the university, the ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Archives, Herrnhut (Germany), the ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church, the City of Bethlehem, and other international World Heritage partners.

Why have an Institute at ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳?

The Institute for ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ History and World Heritage will advance the understanding and appreciation of ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ history and culture through rigorous academic research, education, and public engagement. The Institute will work with several organizations that preserve, protect, and interpret the buildings, records, artwork, musical instruments, and other ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ artifacts. The Institute will focus primarily on academic work related to the world heritage of the ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳s, including helping with the public interpretation of the site itself.

Housing an institute within a university offers several benefits to the academic program of the school. In general, institutes support activities and initiatives that cannot be easily provided by other existing units, such as colleges, divisions, departments, or programs. An institute typically provides programming for the campus and broader community, contributes to the curriculum, supports the production of original scholarship, seeks funding from external grants and donors, and provides an intellectual community space, physical or virtual, for faculty, students, and staff.  An institute can also include "public facing" programs as well as internal academic interdisciplinary programs such as courses, workshops, lectures, and honors projects. 

Bell House Square along Church Street, Bethlehem

Objectives

  1. Promote and support critical academic research and publications on the history of the ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church, especially research that utilizes the resources of ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳, the ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Archives Bethlehem, and the ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church Settlements World Heritage sites.
  2. Facilitate and encourage interdisciplinary academic programs (certificates and degrees) that use the ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church Settlements World Heritage inscription as a lens to explore larger cultural and historical questions.
  3. Work with local organizations to develop and implement robust public humanities programs related to the World Heritage Site that include historically accurate and accessible interpretations that resonate with modern concerns.
  4. Maintain and expand digital humanities programs and resources, such as Bethlehem Digital History and ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Lives, that provide resources for scholars in multiple fields and the general public.
  5. Plan and host regular conferences, symposiums, summer intensives, and public lectures on ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ history and world heritage in collaboration with ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Archives Bethlehem, ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Historical Society, and ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church Settlements World Heritage Site (Herrnhut, Gracehill, Christiansfeld).
  6. Foster collaboration between scholars in multiple fields whose work touches on the history of the ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church and its work in different national/cultural contexts.
  7. Edit and publish peer-reviewed monographs and multi-author books in the series Pietist, ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳, and Anabaptist Studies (Penn State University Press) and collaborate with ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Archives in the editing and publishing of the peer-reviewed Journal of ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ History.
  8. Serve as an academic resource to ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church Settlements and the ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church, including investigation of the lived religious tradition of the ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church worldwide and ways to sustain this tradition.
1741 Gemeinhaus along Church Street

Background

In July 2024, four ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church Settlements (Bethlehem, Herrnhut, Gracehill, Christiansfeld) were officially inscribed as a transnational World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Bethlehem is distinct from the other three sites because the Historic ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Landmark District is contained within the City of Bethlehem and includes parts of the Priscilla Payne Hurd Campus of ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳. The World Heritage nomination dossier lists several reasons why the ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church Settlements (MCS) represent Outstanding Universal Values and should be preserved for future generations:

  • Planned religious settlements that demonstrate exceptional sophisticated and humanistic urban planning guided by social and ethical principles of the ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church.
  • Architecture and craftsmanship expressed in characteristic buildings for the common welfare that represent outstanding testimony to the democratic organization of the ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church.
  • The continuation of ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church activities and traditions, including interaction with the town and its buildings.
  • The attributes of ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church Settlements – their spatial plans and unique arrangements of specific types of buildings and spaces, and the special interrelationships and routes between them - are directly related to ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ religious ideas, beliefs, and practices. Urban structure is an expression of societal structure seen as an expression of religious conviction.

The settlements themselves were built in a highly legible way with distinctive focal points, such as the central square or central ensemble of the most important buildings for the common welfare, and God's Acre (cemetery), to make material the operation of those ideas and beliefs. The temporal span of settlement building reflects an evolution in ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ town planning and architecture.

The component parts (settlements), as living religious heritage, represent the spiritual investment of many generations. Each shares a common set of attributes while making a discrete contribution of individual and site-specific attributes to the series, including distinctive geographical and cultural reach, overall timespan and temporal sequence of settlement building, representative variations in urban plans, exemplars of specific building types, regional contributions in architectural style and local construction materials, together with linkages with other settlements, mission stations, and former Diaspora societies, and other intangibles. (Nomination Dossier ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church Settlements, p. 138, 29)

The Operational Guidelines for World Heritage sites (#215) points to the need for ongoing scholarly research related to the sites and their impact on surrounding communities. The International Management Plan in the Nomination Dossier includes the following objectives for research on ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church Settlements:

  • Promote better understanding of MCS heritage and the significance within the context of the global ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church phenomenon, involving both the macro and the micro-level.
  • Intensify transnational cooperation between MCS-related academic agencies and the larger network of scholars.
  • Provide encouragement and educational opportunities for young scholars from diverse cultural backgrounds and academic resources for ongoing scholarship, for education (including schools, education within the ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church Community and other stakeholder groups), and for other purposes (including dialogue with groups of indigenous peoples).
  • Any professional research on ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Church settlements is wherever possible supported by the provision of access to data and information. (IMP, 55)

The Transnational Coordinating Group called for the development of "an integrated approach for the promotion of MCS scholarship and research designed to strengthen the knowledge and understanding of the common proposed World Heritage Site. Aim: Educating ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ scholars about World Heritage concepts, and promoting the involvement of MCS scholarship in larger academic discourse related to UNESCO World Heritage sites, especially with regard to topics of religious sites and sustainability of living cultural traditions." (International Management Plan, p. 54-55).

Some of this research is already in process, particularly related to the Christiansfeld MCS. ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ already has a Center for ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ Studies (housed in the theological seminary) that has been engaged in encouraging and supporting research into ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ history, culture and theology nationally and internationally, but there is a unique opportunity to strengthen and expand this work by establishing an Institute for ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳ World Heritage and History at ƽÌØһФÂÛ̳. It will be an academic institute focused on research, publication, degree and certificate programs, conferences, lectures, and consultation on the heritage and history of MCS.