Let's Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War

The Horace W. Sturgis Library at Kennesaw State University received a $3,000 grant from the American Library Association (ALA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to host “Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War,” a five-part reading and discussion series. The library is one of 65 public libraries nationwide receiving grants to host the series which will encourage participants to consider the legacy of the Civil War and emancipation.  Local support for the series is provided by the Cobb County Library System, The Southern Museum, the Civil War Center at KSU and the Center for African & African Diaspora Studies at KSU.

In addition to program funding, the library will receive copies of the following works:

•             “March” by Geraldine Brooks (Penguin, 2006)

•             “Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam” by James McPherson (Oxford University Press, 2002)

•             “America’s War: Talking About the  Civil War and Emancipation on Their 150th Anniversaries,” a forthcoming anthology of historical fiction, speeches, diaries, memoirs, biography, and short stories, edited by national project scholar Edward L. Ayers and co-published by NEH and ALA.

Dr. Brian Wills will lead a discussion of the book at each session.  Brian Steel Wills is the Director of the Civil War Center and Professor of History at Kennesaw State University, after a long tenure at the University of Virginia's College at Wise. He is the author of numerous works relating to the American Civil War, including a biography of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, currently in reprint.

All discussions will take place in the Athenaeum Gallery located on the 2^nd floor of the Sturgis Library, Kennesaw State University.  A limited number of the 3 program books are available to participants at no charge. Participants are encouraged to register in advance and attend all, or as many as possible, of the 5 sessions in the series.

For details or to register, please contact Alan Lebish (alebish@kennesaw.edu ) 770-423-6192 or Rita Spisak (rspisak@kennesaw.edu) 770-423-6188