WWI posters discussed at UW-River Falls in commemoration of the centennial anniversary of the U.S. participation in the war

October 6, 2016 — Jason McDonald, assistant professor of history at Truman State University, Kirksville, Mo., will speak at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls on Thursday, Oct. 20, as part of the annual Edward N. Peterson Lecture Series. The free lecture will begin at 4:30 p.m. in the Kinnickinnic Theater in the University Center and will be preceded by a reception at 4 p.m. McDonald's lecture, "Hold Up Your End! Class, Gender, and Ethnicity in U.S. World War I Posters," is in commemoration of the centennial anniversary of the U.S. participation in World War I. The lecture is open to the public. 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 will explain the origins and impact of this nationwide publicity campaign, the first of its kind organized by the federal government. He will also explore some of the key themes and recurring symbolismpresent in America's war mobilization effort. McDonaldholds a doctorate in history from the University of Southampton, United Kingdom. He teaches courses on American history, historiography, and public and digital history, and history of migration, ethnicity, and race, such as African-American history, the Civil Rights Movement, and the American eugenics movement. He has authored books including "American Ethnic History: Themes and Perspectives" (2007) and "Racial Dynamics in Early Twentieth-Century Austin, Texas" (2012) and has published essays and articles in edited collections and scholarly journals including "Immigrants and Minorities" and "Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era." The event is sponsored by the UW-River Falls History and Philosophy Department and funded by the Peterson Lecture Series Endowment Fund and the Walker D. and Helen Bryant Wyman Visiting Professorship in History Foundation. For more information, visit https://www.uwrf.edu/HIST/Events/PetersonLectureSeries/Index.cfm or call the History and Philosophy Department at 715-425-3164.