For more information: Denise Rendina National World War I Museum 816-784-1945 [email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 11, 2009 For publication: 816-784-1926
The Legacy of the Great War: 90 Years On Five Forums Afford Opportunity for Insight into WWI from Leading International Scholars
Ninety years after the United States entered World War I, we continue to experience the political impact of the Great War. Ten world-renowned historians explore not only the war’s history, but how it continues to shape our world today. Through five public forums, each featuring a conversation between two leading authorities, audience members will examine the legacies of the First World War and its continued relevance to our lives.
Each forum is uniquely designed to introduce two distinct opinions on subjects related to the war. The dialogue created during these exchanges, along with audience participation, will reveal insights into one of the pivotal conflicts in America’s history.
The five forums begin in April 2007 and conclude in October 2007. This unique event will be preserved through the publication The Legacy of the Great War: 90 Years On in the fall of 2008. The book will consist of ten essays based on each scholar’s viewpoint, with an introduction by Professor Jay Winter, Yale University.
Winter explains why the series is relevant for today’s audience. “The First World War inaugurated the American century we still inhabit. It launched gas warfare, aerial bombardment, the obliteration of the distinction between civilian and military targets, and the Bolshevik revolution. It mobilized hatred of the enemy among the mass of the population of all combatant countries. It thereby set the stage for the Second World War and the cold War which followed it. Anyone wishing to understand today’s world has to go back to where its origins lay – in the 1914-18 conflict.”
The Series is presented by three non-profit Kansas City organizations – The National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial, The Kansas City Public Library and The Truman Presidential Library & Museum. Three of the programs will be hosted at the National World War I Museum with one program at each of the other sites. Additional funding for the series was provided by Park University, the Sosland Foundation, Oppenstein Brothers Foundation, The Stanley H. Durwood Foundation, and Metropolitan Community College.
All lectures are free. Reservations, which are strongly recommended, are taken by the host institution.
SCHOLARS FORUM DETAILS
The Great War: Tragedy or Mistake? Saturday, April 21, 2007 3 p.m. Host & Location: The National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial Niall Ferguson, Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History, Harvard University Paul Kennedy, J. Richardson Dilworth Professor of History, Yale University For reservations call (816) 784-1926
Waging Total War: A Learning Curve or a Bleeding Curve? Saturday, May 12, 2007 10 a.m. Host & Location: The National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial Sir John Keegan, Internationally Recognized Military Historian Hew Strachan, Chichele Professor of the History of War, Oxford University For reservations call (816) 784-1926
The Soldiers’ War: Consent or Coercion? Monday, July 9, 2007 7 p.m. Host & Location: Truman Presidential Library & Museum John Horne, Professor of Modern European History, Trinity College, Dublin Leonard Smith, Frederick B. Artz Professor of History, Oberlin College For reservations call (816) 268-8215 or e-mail [email protected]
The Great War: The Peace that Failed? Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007 10 a.m. Host & Location: The National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial John Milton Cooper, Jr., E. Gordon Fox Professor of American Institutions, University of Wisconsin Margaret MacMillan, Warden of St. Antony’s College, Oxford University For reservations call (816) 784-1926
The Great War: Midwife to Modern Memory? Saturday, October 13, 2007 10 a.m. Host & Location: The Kansas City Public Library - Central Library (14 West 10th Street) Paul Fussell, Professor of English Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania Jay Winter, Charles J. Stille Professor of History, Yale University For reservations call (816) 701-3407 # # #