York College Students Explore Ties Between the Local Community and American Literature

Guided by Dr. José Luis de Ramón Ruiz, York College students analyzed connections between the material studied in an American literature course and the city of York.

“The knowledge and tools that students acquire in literature courses are relevant and applicable far beyond the context of a class,” says Dr. José Luis de Ramón Ruiz, an Assistant Professor of Literature in the Department of Arts and Humanities.

A testimony to this is the experiential learning project that Dr. Ruiz conducted in his Intro to American Literature II course in Fall 2023, which allowed students to take the study of literary themes outside the classroom and into the city in which they live.

Working in different groups, students toured and explored different locations near York—York County History Center, Prospect Hill Cemetery, and the archives in York College. Then, they reflected on how aspects of these sites connect to and illustrate some of the topics studied in the course.

“York has this rich history and connections to American literature and culture. Teaching this course in central Pennsylvania offers numerous opportunities to study literary themes in the broader context of our community,” says Dr. Ruiz.

“Members of one group identified unique ways in which Prospect Hill, a local cemetery with historical graves from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, represented shared themes with the literature of those periods, including notions of national identity, bravery, and camaraderie. Another group analyzed fictional and folkloric elements that were used at the time of the Hex Murder to come to terms with this horrific event that took place in York. Students in the third group examined the history of York College in light of contemporaneous women’s rights discourses about education and proposed specific ideas to continue making the College more inclusive,” he adds.

Students presented their findings at an event sponsored by the Center for Community Engagement during which they had discussed their projects with members of the community, as well as with faculty and staff from York College.

“A lot of times we look at things through a historic lens. Dr. Ruiz was giving us a chance to look at it through a literature lens as well,” says Emma Ertel ‘26, a Mass Communications major from Shoemakersville, PA, who was assigned to the Prospect Hill Cemetery group.

Literary and Textual Studies major Kane Howard ‘25 was also assigned to the Prospect Hill Cemetery group. Born and raised in York, this project gave Kane a stronger sense of connection between his major and the local community. “Every fall, my mother and I tried to make it a habit to go visit the family at Prospect Hill, and all of the work that we were doing in class at the time made me think a lot deeper about the ties between Prospect Hill Cemetery, the York community, and some foundational texts in U.S literature that we were studying,” he adds.

Literary and Textual Studies major Joy Hoffecker ‘24 was assigned to the group covering the Hex Hollow Murder. As Joy is from West Berlin, NJ, she was unfamiliar with the murder, which is infamous in local York legend and lore. Working on this project allowed her a chance to explore a part of local history she had never heard of before.

“The Hex Murder happened about 100 years ago, and I think it was really interesting learning about that facet of local history because I'm not from around there. I don't really know much about the history of York, so it was interesting being able to learn about this topic and analyze the stories created about it in connection to some of the elements of fiction that we had studied in class,” she says.

Josephine Burry ‘26, a Secondary Education-English major from Birdsboro, PA, appreciated the presentation component of this project and the ability to present in front of community members, faculty, and staff rather than the usual classmates and peers. Josephine was assigned to the group exploring the history of York College in light of women’s discourses about education rights. She was grateful to engage with academics who specialized in the areas on which they were presenting.

“When you present with a lot with presentations, especially with peers in a classroom, usually there's a lot of silence. But when you invite faculty and staff to come and view your presentation, they're going there because they want to hear what you have to say,” Josephine says. “For these professors who've had experience with this kind of academia, this is their playground. Seeing all of them with all their specialties, being able to answer questions and ask questions— it was just really cool to hear them all add to what we've presented.”

Dr. Ruiz’s students have nothing but praise for him.

“He was able to take some ‘not all that interesting’ pieces of literature that a lot of us weren't too excited to be reading and make it seem interesting and exciting,” Josephine adds. “It was always a class that no matter the day I wanted to show up to, because it was fun. It wasn't too much lecture. It was always nice being able to talk with our peers and put our ideas together, and I think that really has to do with our professor fostering a great community in the class.”

As for Dr. Ruiz, he hopes to run the course again in the future. “I think there are other areas of York that would make for great experiential projects and would also help students see how the place in which they live is in conversation with larger themes in American literature,” he says.