The Kishwaukee College Library has received a grant from the Library of America to present programming on World War I and America during the Spring 2017 semester. This year marks the centennial of the U.S. entry into the World War I, the War to End All Wars. All events offered by the Kishwaukee College Library are free and open to the public.
The World War I and America series will kick off on February 15 at 11:00a.m. – 12:30p.m. with area historian Jim Gibbons presentation, World Gone Mad. Gibbons will examine significant events that thrust the United States into the war, including the assassination of the Arch Duke Ferdinand, the sinking of the luxury liner Lusitania, and the eventual rise of Adolph Hitler to supreme power which led to World War II. World Gone Mad will be held in Room A1225 in the Kishwaukee College Conference Center.
On Monday February 27 from 11:00a.m. – noon and again on Tuesday, February 28 from 12:30 – 1:30p.m., join Pernevlon Ellis, Kishwaukee College Sociology instructor, for an interactive discussion on Harlem Hellfighters: Prejudice, Discrimination, and Heroism in World War I. Both presentations will be held in Room C1130 in the Student Center.
Join Kishwaukee College History faculty member and veteran Jennifer Jossendal and a panel of veterans in a discussion of the military experience. Reading diaries and memoirs of World War I reveals both terror and thrill, a sense of purpose and bafflement, and the comradeship that only veterans understand. Veterans of World War I also struggled to understand how war had impacted those who never saw the front lines. Are these themes unique to World War I, or are they present in veterans of recent wars? The veterans panel discussion, The Unknown Soldier: How Does Military Service Change You?, will be on Thursday, March 30 from 12:30 – 1:30p.m. in Room C1130 in the Student Center.
The series will finish with a presentation on What Does the Nation Owe Those Who Fight? By Dr. Ashley Becker, Senior Director for Academic Affairs at the Illinois Community College Board. Dr. Becker’s presentation will be on Tuesday, April 25 from 11:00a.m. – noon in C1130, the Student Lounge in the Student Center.
Throughout the Spring semester, community members are welcome to explore the displays and recommended readings on World War I that have been assembled by the Reference Librarian staff at Kishwaukee College.
This programming is part of World War I and America, a two-year national initiative of the Library of America presented in partnership with The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the National World War I Museum and Memorial, and other organizations, with generous support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
For more information on the World War I and America series at Kishwaukee College, contact Anne-Marie Green, Interim Dean of Library and Academic Support, at 815-825- 9443 or at anne-marie.green@kishwaukeecollege.edu or visit www.kishwaukeecollege.edu/wwi.
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Great. Perhaps learning history, and in particular WWl and ll will give some insight as to why if history is not understood what brought about change and devastation could truly repeat itself. Today’s political affairs seem to be paralleling our recent past.