Nov. 7, 2023

• "'The Land is the Only Thing': Tracing the History of Ojibwe Activism in Northern Wisconsin"
• Dr. Katrina Phillips, Macalester College, Saint Paul, Minnesota, Associate Professor of History with a focus on Native history and the history of the American West

Video recording of this event (1 hr., 22 min.)

• Topic summary
• Publicity poster
• News release
• More about Dr. Phillips

Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019

• "The Sound of Stalinism: Music and Politics in East Germany and Poland"
• David Tompkins, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History, Director of European Studies, Director of the Center for Global and Regional Studies, Carleton College

Presentation summary:
In the early years of the Cold War, communist officials in Central Europe sought to remake their societies in the Stalinist mold. Music played an crucial role in this attempt to create new socialist citizens. This talk will delve into the music and politics related to the drive to transform the worldviews of Poles and East Germans.

More about Tompkins
Event poster

Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018

• "The Spirit of Memphis: Public Employees and the Dignity of Labor"
• William P. Jones, Ph.D., Professor of History, University of Minnesota

Presentation summary:
When Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated on April 4, 1968, he was in Memphis, Tenn., to support 1,300 African American sanitation workers who were on strike for what he called “the dignity of labor.” Pointing out that garbage collectors were as critical to public health as doctors, yet paid far less, he asserted; “Whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity, and it is for the building of humanity, it has dignity and it has worth.”

Drawing on his research into public employment in the 20th century United States, Jones explains why the work of garbage collectors and other public employees has been devalued and how those workers have mobilized to assert the dignity of their labor. This history is particularly relevant as we face rising economic inequality, debates over the rights of workers, and the growing significance of service work in the 21st century.

About Jones
Event poster
News release

Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017

• "Korean-Japanese Relations, Imperial Nostalgia and Japan's New Right"
• Louise Young, Ph.D., Professor of History, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Presentation summary:
The outspoken nationalist rhetoric and pugnacious saber rattling of the current Japanese government under Abe Shinzo represents a break with longstanding policy norms. Since defeat in World War II, the Japanese state has kept a low political profile while pursuing economism in relations with Korea and other Asian nations. Abe's changes in educational policy to promote aggressive nationalism, as well as his revision of the constitution to authorize unilateral military action, are both connected to a recent celebration of Japanese of colonialism in Korea. This likewise is a striking shift for a country that after 1945 had largely dealt with the history of its colonial empire by trying to forget it:  an "empire mourned without a tear."

This presentation examines the tensions in relations with South Korea around economic rivalries and the Comfort Women issue that are driving the rise of the new right from the 1990s to the present and explores the significance of nostalgia for the days of empire.

About Louise Young
Event poster
News release

Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016

• "Hold Up Your End! Class, Gender, and Ethnicity in U.S. World War I Posters" (In commemoration of the Centennial Anniversary of U.S. Participation in World War I)
• Jason McDonald, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of History, Truman State University, Kirksville, Mo.

Presentation summary:
Join the navy! Buy war bonds! Conserve food supplies! The American public was bombarded with messages like these during World War I, mostly via eye-catching posters issued by a host of governmental and voluntary agencies. McDonald explained the origins and impact of this nationwide publicity campaign, the first of its kind organized by the federal government. He also explored some of the key themes and recurring symbolism present in America's war mobilization effort.

About McDonald
Event poster
News release