Campus Life

Renowned author, educator Henry Glassie returns to Penn State Harrisburg

Henry Glassie began his academic career as assistant professor of American studies at Penn State Harrisburg in 1969. Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — As part of the campus' 50th anniversary celebration, the Penn State Harrisburg School of Humanities will present Henry Glassie, an internationally renowned author and educator, and one of Penn State Harrisburg’s first faculty members, at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 20, in the library’s Morrison Gallery on campus.

The award-winning author of “Vernacular Architecture,” “The Spirit of Folk Art,” and 22 other books on world arts and culture, Glassie will take guests on a global tour of traditional buildings and landscapes to uncover a new way to conceive of a history of humankind. 

Professor emeritus at Indiana University in Bloomington, Glassie began his academic career as assistant professor of American studies at Penn State Harrisburg in 1969 (known then as Capitol Campus), after having served as director of the Ethnic Culture Survey for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. He later held positions at the University of Pennsylvania and Indiana University, where he held appointments in folklore, Turkish studies, near eastern languages and cultures, central Eurasian studies, American studies, and India studies. His books have covered the traditions and arts of Turkey, Brazil, Bangladesh, Northern Ireland, Nigeria, and the United States. Recent titles include “Vernacular Architecture,” “The Stars of Ballymenone,” “The Potter’s Art, Art and Life in Bangladesh,” “Turkish Traditional Art Today,” and “Prince Twins Seven-Seven: His Life in Nigeria, His Exile in America.”

Among his many honors and awards are the Charles Homer Haskins Prize for lifetime scholarly achievement in the humanities from the American Council of Learned Societies, Award of Honor for Superior Service to Turkish Culture from the Ministry of Culture of the Turkish Republic, Certificate of Honour from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Cummings Award for the best book on North American vernacular architecture from the Vernacular Architecture Forum, the Lifetime Scholarly Achievement Award from the American Folklore Society, and a Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship. He has served as president of the American Folklore Society and Vernacular Architecture Forum.

For more information and to register, call 717-948-6201, email amstd@psu.edu, or visit harrisburg.psu.edu/calendar/event/henry-glassie.

Last Updated February 14, 2017