Diversity in Early America Tour App

FAIN: MD-290292-23

Journal of Ecumenical Studies (Philadelphia, PA 19121-3429)
David Krueger (Project Director: June 2022 to present)

Historical and technical research for an app-based mobile walking tour about the diverse religious traditions in colonial and Revolutionary-era Philadelphia.

The Dialogue Institute is requesting a $30,000 Digital Projects for the Humanities Discovery grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for the research phase of the “Diversity in Early America Tour App” that will guide visitors through uniquely historic religious and cultural sites that are connected to Independence National Historical Park and the broader historic district in Philadelphia. The completed app will be available for download onto a user’s phone or other mobile device. The content will tell the story of the unique religious diversity found in Philadelphia during the colonial and Revolutionary eras and how it is tied together with the more famous sites of early American history found in and around the park. The project aims to promote the virtues of religiously-diverse democracies and use history to stimulate dialogue about the challenges of majority-minority relations, racial justice, and the rise of Christian nationalism in the contemporary U.S.