All of the events at the House Divided launch this past weekend were impressive in and of themselves. The amount of people who showed up to the movie festival Friday night and the teacher workshop Saturday morning, both from local areas and across the country, represented the excitement generated by this new research tool.
I was particularly impressed by the walking tours at the Old Courthouse and the David Blight lecture Saturday night. Although the weather impacted the walking tour experience, it was still fascinating to see how technology will be used in presenting the history behind specific sites in Carlisle. I think that this new way of looking at the town could generate a lot of interest in its role in the Civil War.
Blight’s lecture on memory and the Civil War was the most interesting part of the weekend, for me. I enjoyed hearing his explanations as to why the Civil War plays such a large role in public memory 150 years after it began. Blight provided his own hypotheses, but most importantly, he left the audience to reflect on what he suggested, and think about their own ideas.