University of Richmond Library Will Host Nationwide Film Series on World War I
September 9, 2005
Boatwright Memorial Library at the University of Richmond is one of 50 libraries nationwide selected to participate in a film viewing and discussion series called “The World War I Years: America Becomes a World Power.”
The series will be held on Wednesdays in the Adams Auditorium of Boatwright Library from 7–9 p.m. It is open to all adults in the Richmond community. Admission is free, but registration is required. To register, contact Paul Porterfield, media librarian and program coordinator, at (804) 289-8453 or pporterf@richmond.edu.
“The World War I Years” explores the political and social history of the United States in the early 20th century. John Treadway, professor of history at Richmond, will lead a discussion of each session’s award-winning documentary.
The six-part program kicks off Sept. 21 with an excerpt from “Woodrow Wilson, Part II: The Redemption of the World.” This biography begins in 1914 as Wilson seeks to avoid American involvement at any cost. It goes on to chronicle Wilson’s wartime presidency and ends with the Paris Peace Conference.
Additional films discussed in the series include “The Great War—1918,” Sept. 28, which looks at America’s military involvement in France in the last two years of the war.
Hosted by Peter Jennings, “1914-1918: Shell Shock” will be shown Oct. 5. It looks at the massive material, psychological and spiritual damage inflicted on peoples of the world by World War I. Also shown that day will be “Men of Bronze: the Black American Heroes of World War I.” The film tells the little-known story of the African American soldiers of the 369th combat regiment, New York, who fought with the French army in the war.
Two films will be shown Oct. 12, “Up South: African American Migration in the Era of the Great War” and “One Woman, One Vote.” “Up South,” based on actual letters and interviews, follows African American residents of Hattiesburg, Miss, who move north to Chicago between 1916 and 1921.
“One Woman, One Vote” chronicles the crucial events in the women’s suffrage movement during and after WWI, culminating in the passage of the 19th Amendment.
On Oct. 19, another excerpt from “Woodrow Wilson, Part II: The Redemption of the World” will be shown.
On Oct. 26, “Return to Isolation” focuses on the bitter fight between the president and the Senate over the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations. Also on that evening, “Lost Peace: Ideals for a United World Fail” will examine the years following the Treaty of Versailles and the events that led to World War II.
A major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) supports the project organized by National Video Resources (NVR) in partnership with the American Library Association (ALA).