
Photo via Library of Congress. Petersburg, Va. Officers of the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry playing cards in front of tents, August 1864.
Civil War Lecture Series Highlights Diverse Voices
The 91µ÷½Ģ ā Fort Smith will host a civil war lecture series titled āOur only āfeltā history: New Perspectives on the U.S. Civil Warā featuring leading scholars in the field throughout the semester, thanks to funding from a Research and Innovation mini-grant awarded by the 91µ÷½Ģ provostās office.
āThis series meshes nicely with the universityās mission by making sure that that students leave 91µ÷½Ģ with a complete understanding of the deep historical roots of contemporary U.S. issues,ā said Dr. Evan C. Rothera, assistant professor of history.
āMany people fall into the trap of understanding the Civil War as all about battles and leaders,ā Rothera said. āThey focus on the view from headquarters and only see the long blue and gray lines marching across a field. The speakers in this series will discuss the people often ignored in older Civil War narratives ā women, African Americans, Native Americans, and immigrants, and their lectures will reinforce the current work of the institutionās Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.ā
The first lecture in the series will be delivered by Dr. Antwain K. Hunter of Butler University. His talk, āāA number of small black boys about town had pistols in their possessionā: Race, Illegal Firearms, and the Law in Antebellum North Carolinaā will take place Wednesday, February 23, 2022, at 3:30 p.m. on Zoom (event no longer in session). Though originally intended to be hosted in-person, this kickoff event has moved fully remote due to the threat of inclement weather.
Future lectures will be delivered in hybrid format with refreshments at the Windgate Art & Design building ahead of each lecture, which will be delivered in person and via Zoom.
āThis is indeed a world that can and does turn on a dime, and it is easier than ever to be connected to people and places across the world,ā Rothera added. āIronically, the flood of information brought about by global communication has caused many people to turn inward. All of the speakers in this series will problematize the Civil War and remind us that we have to understand the interplay between local, state, national, and transnational phenomena to truly understand the past, and its context in the present.ā
The full slate of lectures includes:
Dr. Antwain K. Hunter of Butler University
āāA number of small black boys about town had pistols in their possessionā: Race, Illegal Firearms, and the Law in Antebellum North Carolinaā
3:30 p.m., Wednesday, February 23, 2022
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Dr. Matthew D. Norman of the University of Cincinnati, Blue Ash College
āKnowing Him by Heart: African Americans on Abraham Lincolnā
3:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 3, 2022
Dr. Claire M. Wolnisty of Austin College
āA Different Manifest Destinyā
3 p.m. Thursday, March 31, 2022
Dr. Shae Smith Cox of Nicholls State University
āClothed in Service: Indigenous Civil War Service, Sacrifice, and Commemoration.ā
3 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, 2022
- Tags:
- Political Science
- History
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