123 1924 Experience The History Department provides experiences to look back at the past and immerse students and guests into 1924, the year Harding College opened. interested in — you’d be surprised finding out all the different ways you can make a career out of your interests. If you’re consumed by learning about a topic, you can really go as far with anything.” The event focused on the first aerial flight around the world, which was accomplished by four members of the U.S. Army Air Services and lasted 175 days. The 26,345-mile flight was the end of a global race to be the first to complete a circumnavigation mission, similar to the race to the moon that would take place 45 years later. Laing said it is important to understand the linkage between the past and the present. “Our past informs every part of our present,” Laing said. “When we understand where we have come from we are better able to deal with our present. I think that students gain a greater appreciation for how complex the past is and how many things are happening at the same time.” In addition to the aviation events, the 1924 Experience joined the Art and Design Department in showcasing the Miguel Covarrubias: Caricaturista Exhibition, introducing the art of an era and a major person from the 1920s. Dr. Liann Gallagher, co-director of the 1924 Experience and associate professor of political science, said working with the art and design department was beneficial. “We have partnered with this exhibit with the art department,” Gallagher said. “They have been very helpful in putting up, maintaining and managing the exhibit itself, which was great. The partnership with them has been really invaluable.” Gallagher said students could broaden their horizons by experiencing what the 1924 Experience brought to campus. “One of the cool things about college, I think, is that you get exposed to perspectives that are different from your own,”Gallagher said. “So even if you’re not an art person, consuming art and being a patron of the arts is still a really important thing to make yourself a really well-rounded person.” Laing said there is a connection to be found between caricatures now and the art from the displayed time period. “Many people think of caricatures at the fair, but to see an artist who does caricatures and an anthropologist who does characters, and then how that can give you a better picture of an era,”Laing said.“We can take photographs, and photographs are great, but they don’t really draw out the uniqueness of the person in the same way a caricature does.” Written by Emma McDaris
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