This five-part reading and discussion series led by Dr. Sheldon Hackney, Boies Professor of U.S. History at the University of Pennsylvania, will probe meanings of the Civil War that are “hidden in plain sight” behind the key questions and main characters so familiar to us. Each session will begin with a short lecture followed by a discussion of that session's topic and readings.Discussions will be held monthly on Tuesday evenings at 7pm and reading materials will be provided to registered participants. Course size is limited and preregistration is required.
Session One (January 10th)"Imagining War"
Readings: March by Geraldine Brooks, and a selection from the anthology America's War
Session Two (February 7th)"Choosing Sides"
Readings: selections from America's War
Session Three (March 6th) "Making Sense of Shiloh"
Readings: selections from America's War
Session Four (April 17th) "The Shape of War"
Readings: Crossroads of Freedom by James M. McPherson, and selections from America's War
Session Five (May 8th) " War and Freedom"
Readings: selections from America's War
Download the list of reading selections from America's War
RELATED PROGRAMSOn Wednesday, December 14th at 7pm, Tony Horwitz will lead a discussion of his new bookMidnight rising : John Brown and the raid that sparked the Civil War. This event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.
A variety of special events and lectures will be scheduled throughout the upcoming months, including a discussion about the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement by Professor Patricia Sullivan, a lecture by U.S. Slave Song Project president James Thomas about codes found in slave songs, and a reading and discussion by Island resident John Hough Jr., about his bookSeen the Glory: a Novel of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Visit this page or the library event calendar for details on future programs.
Course Selections
Reading selections will be provided to registered participants and include the following texts:
March, by Geraldine Brooks
Viking, 2005
In a story inspired by the father character in "Little Women" and drawn from the journals and letters of Louisa May Alcott's father, a man leaves behind his family to serve in the Civil War and finds his beliefs challenged by his experiences.
Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam, by James M. McPherson
Oxford University Press, 2002
In a vivid and incisive narrative, the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian delves deeply into the furious twenty-four-hour battle that had reverberations far away from the battlefield, changing the outcome of the Civil War.
America's war : talking about the Civil War and emancipation on their 150th anniversaries, edited by Edward L. Ayers
American Library Association ; National Endowment for the Humanities, 2011
For Further Reading
A selection of books on the American Civil War may be found on display throughout the library.
For additional suggestions, click here for a list of recent fiction and nonfiction titles on this topic.
ONLINE RESOURCESThe following list of websites related to the American Civil War has been compiled by the American Library Association and the National Endowment for the Humanities, to complement the "Let's Talk About It" program.
What’s New
• New York Times – Opinionator’s “Disunion” series
Exclusive online commentary revisiting and reconsidering America's most perilous period -- using contemporary accounts, diaries, images and historical assessments to follow the Civil War as it unfolded.
• National Park Service - The Civil War: 150 Years
(National Park Service Sesquicentennial Commemoration)
Features include: Nationwide calendar of CW150 events, information about Civil War Parks, access to database of Civil War Soldiers, more in-depth information about the War
Pioneering Digital History Resources
• Valley of the Shadow
Edward L. Ayers
• Hidden Patterns of the Civil War
Digital Scholarship Lab, University of Richmond
http://dsl.richmond.edu/civilwar/Online Exhibitions• Library of Congress - From Slavery to Civil Rights: A Timeline of African American History
• Library of Congress - Variety of collections on: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877
• Virginia Historical Society - An American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia
• National Underground Railroad Freedom Center - Online exhibit of Frederick Douglass’ documents
• Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History - Online Exhibition: John Brown the Abolitionist and His Legacy
• Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History - Slideshow: Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation
• National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) - America’s Historical Documents: The Emancipation Proclamation
• Frederick Douglass National Historic Site - Virtual Museum Exhibit
• Boston College - First-Hand: Civil War Era Drawings from the Becker Collection
http://firsthandexhibit.org/General Information – To Learn More
• EdSITEment - The American Civil War
• EdSITEment - Literature of the Civil War
• EdSITEment - K-12 lesson plans on Slavery, the Crisis of the Union, the Civil War
and Reconstruction
• Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History -History by Era: The Civil War Era
• Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History - Civil War 150th
"Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War", has been made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association.
