First meeting is Thursday, Dec. 1, at University Place Pierce County Library
TACOMA, Wash. – One hundred and fifty years ago the American Civil War of 1861–1865 began. But exactly why various groups chose to take up arms, what the experience was like for those who fought and those on the fringes, and what legacy this war subsequently left us are points still debated today.
Members of the public will have their chance to delve into this historic era in America’s history at a series of book readings and discussions to be led by William Breitenbach, professor of history at University of Puget Sound.
Let’s Talk About it: Making Sense of the American Civil War will take place at University Place Pierce County Library, 7–9 p.m., on the first Thursday of each month, from January to May 2012. A short orientation meeting and distribution of the free books to be read will be held at 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 1.
The discussion series, which commemorates the Civil War’s sesquicentennial, is taking place at 65 U.S. libraries. The selected libraries received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the American Library Association (ALA) as part of a wider initiative that aims to bring diverse groups together to discuss major issues of concern to Americans.
“The readings have been selected so there is not just one type of treatment of the Civil War—not just trumpets and battle flags, but diaries and memoirs and speeches, including writings from President Lincoln and Mark Twain, as well as contemporary writers such as Bobbie Ann Mason,” said Breitenbach. “I think this will appeal to people who enjoy historical fiction as well as those who enjoy military history, and to people interested in the story of emancipation.”
The following works will be discussed at the monthly meetings:
- 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,
an 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.
William Breitenbach teaches U.S. history at University of Puget Sound, covering the colonial period through the Civil War, including courses on early American autobiography, the American Revolution, transcendentalism, Abraham Lincoln, and intellectual history to 1865. A graduate of Harvard and Yale universities, Breitenbach’s scholarly interests include the theologian Jonathan Edwards and the utopian John Humphrey Noyes.
Local support for the series is provided by Friends of the University Place Library and University Place Historical Society.
For more information about the Civil War discussion series contact Jason Anderson via email at janderson@piercecountylibrary.org or telephone 253.548.3307.
For a poster on the discussions see: http://www.piercecountylibrary.org/files/library/up-civil-war.pdf. University Place Library is located at 3609 Market Place W., University Place, WA 98466.
Photos on page: Top right: Soldiers of the Union Army storm Fort Wagner, held by the Confederate States Army, a lithograph by Kurz and Allison (1890). (Public domain). Above left: William Breitenbach.
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