The Society for German-American Studies held its 27th Annual Symposium in Baltimore, Maryland in April 2003. Port cities of the Eastern seaboard of the United States, and especially Baltimore were highlighted by the 2003 Symposium. The conference was held at the Graduate Center of Loyola College in Timonium on the Baltimore Beltline. SGAS member, Randall Donaldson coordinated the program.
The conference began on Wednesday 23rd April with the festive Annual Dinner and Lecture of the Society for the History of the Germans in Maryland held in downtown Baltimore. William Keel, University of Kansas, spoke on the historical roots of the Schnitzelbank song.
The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany sponsored the opening reception on Thursday evening. The Honorable Judge Gerard Wm. Wittstadt and Dr. Rosemary K. Wittstadt hosted a late evening dinner in their home in Towson, Md. and presented the Society for German-American Studies with Governor Ehrlich’s proclamation in honor of its meeting in Baltimore. The Governor praised the work of the Society for German-American Studies and its publications.
The two days of presentations on German-American topics began on Friday morning. John T. Humphrey was the keynote speaker. He is the director of the Learning Center of the National Genealogical Society in Arlington, Va. For most of the conference three concurrent sessions meant having to choose which sessions to attend. One session for example focused on religion in Baltimore with presentations on the German Catholics of Baltimore, on Pastor Julius Hofmann (1865-1928) and the Lutheran Zionskirche, and on the German-Jewish Community of Baltimore, while at the same time at the Dichterlesungen session German-American poets, Ingeborg Carsten-Miller, Norbert Krapf and Rita Terras read from their works. The Saturday plenary session speaker was Dorothy A. Boyd-Rush, James Madison University, who spoke on “An All-American Highway.” She explained how an old Indian trail from Pennsylvania through the western part of Virginia became a road used by immigrants, which then influenced the location of settlements
Saturday afternoon tours of historic sites were scheduled. One tour focused on H.L. Mencken and included a visit to the Enoch Pratt Free Library which has Mencken’s personal library and his manuscripts. The Mencken home is located at 1524 Hollins Street and although not open to the public, because it is in ill repair, SGAS members were able to tour the home.
The main banquet
was held in the Adlersaal of the Zionskirche, located on the City Hall Square
in downtown Baltimore. Before the dinner
the son of the former pastor gave a tour of the church and its library. Zion Church of Baltimore or Zionskirche dates
back to 1755 and has always had German church services.
The parish hall is built and decorated in the
old guild style. It purposely has no
religious elements. Prof. Steven W. Rowan,
University of Missouri at St. Louis, is the recipient of the 2003 Society for
German-American Studies Award for his many scholarly contributions to the field
of German-American Studies, including his translations of German-American
novels. Margrit B. Krewson (recently retired from the Library of Congress) was
given a Special SGAS Award. She
instigated and curated the numerous exhibits of rare German works, such as the
exhibit: Dresden:
Treasures from the Saxon State Library.
The Society for German-American Studies (SGAS) is an international association of individuals and institutions interested in the study of the history, culture, folklore, genealogy, language, literature and the creative arts of the German element in North America. Each year SGAS holds an annual meeting and symposium in a location which has interest for the study of German-American element. The Society also publishes a newsletter and a yearbook of research findings for members and it also assists members, researchers, teachers and students. Next year’s symposium is planned for New Ulm, Minnesota.
Frances Ott , Publicity Director
Society for German-American Studies
(513) 451-9233
allenfo@email.uc.edu
Updated: 17 November 2007, BAS Comments to: IUPUI Max Kade German-American Center, mkgac@iupui.edu This page sponsored and maintained by IUPUI University Libraries. URL: http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/kade/SGAS/sgas2003.html |
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