Profs and Pints Baltimore

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “When the Civil War Came to ‘Mobtown’,” on the infamous Baltimore incident known as the Pratt Street Riot, with Anne Sarah Rubin, a professor of history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County who teaches courses on Southern and Civil War history.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/civil-war-mobtown .]

Although the American Civil War began in Charleston, South Carolina, it’s Baltimore that has the dubious distinction of being the site where the war's first blood was shed. The deaths came not as the result of military combat, but rather because ordinary Baltimoreans attacked troops from Pennsylvania and Massachusetts passing through the city.

Gain an in-depth understanding of this clash and its impact on the course of the Civil War in Maryland and elsewhere with the help of Anne Sarah Rubin, author of books such as Through the Heart of Dixie: Sherman’s March and American Memory and A Shattered Nation: The Rise and Fall of the Confederacy, 1861-1868.

To help set up the story, Professor Rubin will discuss how as of the 1850s Baltimore had earned the nickname of “Mobtown” due to the presence of white, working-class gangs that fought over race, jobs, and politics. Many of the city’s residents found themselves sympathizing with the South—or at least opposed to war with it—when the Civil War began in mid-April 1861 with the fall of Fort Sumter in the face of bombardment by South Carolina’s militia.

President Abraham Lincoln called up troops in response to Sumter’s surrender, and on April 19, 1861, those passing through Baltimore on their way to Washington D.C. were attacked by a foe they had not expected: an angry Baltimore mob. Some troops opened fire in self-defense and by the end of the day at least 16 people were dead and more than 100 were wounded.

The riot’s impact on Baltimore lasted much more than one violent day. The city was placed under martial law, with the cannons on Federal Hill being turned around toward the city rather than out towards the harbor. Southern sympathizers were arrested and held in Fort McHenry, despite a federal court finding that such detentions were unconstitutional. The harsh treatment of them was memorialized in the poem “Maryland, My Maryland,” the state song until 2021.

Dr. Rubin will trace the course of the riots and examine their impact on civil liberties during the war and the future of the city thereafter. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Doors open at 5. The talk begins at 6:30.)

Image: From an 1861 F.F. Walker engraving of the Massachusetts Militia under attack in Baltimore (Wikimedia).

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “Nosferatu Versus Dracula,” on the rivalry between two versions of a vampire and its lasting impact on how we think of their kind, with Stanley Joseph Stepanic, who teaches a course on Dracula and vampire folklore as an assistant professor of Slavic languages and literature at the University of Virginia.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/nosferatu-dracula .]

The Robert Eggers remake of Nosferatu that was released to acclaim this past Christmas Day represents just the latest effort to bring this vampire to life. It’s tempting to credit the acclaimed German silent film director F.W. Murnau as the first to do so, but doing so obscures how much Murnau owed to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, who continues on his own to pop up on the big screen every few years.

Come dig up the vampires beneath the vampires with the help of Dr. Stanley Stepanic, whose course on Dracula ranks as one of UVA’s most popular and who previously has given several excellent Profs and Pints talks.

He’ll discuss the folkloric origins of Stoker’s Count Dracula and how Nosferatu and its lead character Count Orlok fit into the picture. You’ll learn how these reimagined versions of long-feared undead beings helped cement the vampire’s status as one of the most enduring and prominent symbols of the human condition throughout the world.

Though considered a landmark of horror fiction today, Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula was not initially a success. Stoker died in relative obscurity, remembered primarily for his contributions to theater operations and not his writing. What brought attention to the novel was a copyright lawsuit alleging that Murnau had essentially robbed Stoker’s grave by turning Dracula into his 1922 silent film Nosferatu.

The subsequent legal battle over the film and the media attention generated by it led Stoker's widow, Florence, to move forward with a dramatic production of Dracula which was first performed in England in 1924 and then on Broadway in the United States in 1927. These stage productions in turn led to the first proper film version of Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi and released in 1931.

Through such developments, Count Dracula evolved from a relatively minor villain that introduced little that was new to vampire literature into a popular culture phenomenon who has appeared in the media in countless forms. He and his various offspring will loom larger in your imagination as a result of this talk. (Talk rescheduled from March. Doors: $17, or $15 with student ID. Doors open at 3:30 pm. Talk begins at 4:30.)

Image: From a 1922 German promotional poster for Nosferatu. Artist: Albin Grau.

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “An Intro to Entrepreneurship,” on the basics of what universities teach about starting a business, with Daniel J. Lee, associate professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Delaware.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/intro-to-entrepreneurship .]

Regardless of whether you are a seasoned entrepreneur or simply thinking of launching a new business, you’ll profit mightily from coming to Baltimore’s Guilford Hall Brewery to hear entrepreneurship expert Daniel Lee share his wisdom.

Professor Lee will start by discussing common myths and misgivings about starting a business, debunking preconceived notions about who can become an entrepreneur and sorting truth from fiction when it comes to why some businesses fail.

He’ll introduce those on hand to how the entrepreneurial mindset is taught at the collegiate level. You’ll learn about the practical application of key concepts such as the “lean startup” method of developing businesses and products and also the use of “problem interviews” to identify consumer needs.

You’ll be walked through key stages of the entrepreneurial process, starting with opportunity recognition and screening and moving on to idea generation, business model generation and validation, and, finally, the launch and growth of a new venture. You’ll learn how this process can be applied to a wide range of entrepreneurial contexts, become familiar with innovation strategies like disruption, and end up with a better understanding of intellectual property and the use of “platform architecture” in planning how a new venture will operate.

Attendees will learn a practical framework to assess and pursue their own entrepreneurial ideas. They’ll also gain valuable insights that can be applied to real-world ventures regardless of industry or experience level. (Doors: $17, or $15 with student ID. Doors open at 3:30 pm. Talk begins at 4:30.)

Image by Canva.

Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “Ancient Magic and Witchcraft,” on beliefs in supernatural powers in the Greece and Rome of antiquity, with Barbette Spaeth, professor emerita of classical studies at the College of William & Mary.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/baltimore-ancient-magic .]

In the Greco-Roman world of the ancient Mediterranean existed people who practiced magic and witchcraft in much the same way that we think of it today. They wrote down and uttered spells—for both themselves and their clients—to curse enemies, force others to fall in love, prophesy the future, heal both physical and mental injuries, and even raise the dead. Belief in their powers was widespread.

Take a scholarly journal back to antiquity to learn who practiced magic, and how they did it, with Professor Barbette Spaeth, an expert on Greek and Roman religion who has extensively researched ancient magic and witchcraft and offered two courses on it.

In a talk that has received rave audience reviews when previously given in Charlottesville and Richmond, Dr. Spaeth will discuss the evidence of ancient magical practices found in ancient Greek and Latin literature, inscriptions, and artifacts uncovered by archaeologists.

You’ll learn how ancient practitioners of magic could supposedly turn themselves into animals, be in two places at once, and force ghosts and demons to do their bidding. The tools they used in their work included plants and herbs, wands, lead tablets, and animal or human body parts.

While both women and men practiced magic, but there appears to have been marked differences in how they approached it. Men were considered "magicians" who learned their craft from books or consultations with divine beings and mainly practiced positive “white magic.” Women were more likely to be depicted practicing evil “black magic” that they learned from other female “witches” or through powers they’d come upon naturally.

Greek witches like Circe and Medea were seen as beautiful young women who did magic most commonly to help others, particularly their lovers. In contrast, Roman witches like Canidia and Erichtho, were portrayed as old ugly hags who used magic to harm others and ultimately to undermine the very foundations of the universe.

The state, particularly under the Roman Empire, tried to control the practice of magic, particularly the “black” form. The sanctions imposed on those convicted of practicing it included exile and execution. ( Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Doors open at 5. The talk begins at 6:30.)

Image: From the 1892 John William Waterhouse painting “Circe Invidiosa,” which depicts the witch Circe turning the beautiful maiden Scylla into a monster by pouring a magic potion into the waters where Scylla took her bath.