Richard Macksey was born in 1931. He received his B.A from Johns Hopkins in 1953 and earned his Ph.D. from the University in 1957. Macksey went on to work for the university as a professor teaching critical theory, comparative literature and film studies. He also served as the co-founder and director of the Johns Hopkins University Humanities Center. Macksey is also known for his extensive private library, which is home to more than 70,000 books and manuscripts. In this interview, Macksey recounts Hopkins' early history and those who were instrumental in shaping it. This oral history is a part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.

On this Easter Sunday program, Lynn Poole and art professor Adolf Katzenellenbogen discuss Christ's resurrection and its depiction in early art. Dr. Katzenellenbogen notes that the event is generally presented in three ways: symbolically, indirectly, and directly. He and Mr. Poole analyze the elements of a symbolic stone relief. The indirect depiction shows the three holy women visiting the spice merchant and/or the sepulcher. Actors perform a typical Easter drama of this event, and Dr. Katzenellenbogen compares a painting, fresco, and woodcut of the similar scene. Christ rising from the tomb is the direct portrayal of the resurrection. Dr. Katzenellenbogen discusses a series of paintings, by artists Piero della Francesca, Giovanni Bellini, and Matthias Grunewald, in historical sequence, indicating how the landscape in the scenes becomes progressively more real and the light and darkness more contrasted. Paul Hindeman's Grunewald-inspired music closes the program.