NEH hosts Veterans Day screenings of Death and the Civil War

To commemorate Veterans Day, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is coordinating four events around the country that will bring together military academy cadets and students of liberal arts colleges for a screening and discussion of Ric Burns' NEH-funded documentary Death and the Civil War.

These events will be held November 13^th and 14^th at Georgetown University in Washington, DC; the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York; the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland; and Colorado College at Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Each gathering will begin with a special director’s cut of Death and the Civil War, followed by a scholarly panel discussion featuring historians, veterans, and policy experts from the partner institutions. Their discussions will examine the legacy of the Civil War and its relevance to veterans’ needs today, with the aim of exploring how students and academics can bridge the gap between the military and civilian spheres to create stronger educational support for returning veterans.

Based on the book This Republic of Suffering by historian Drew Gilpin Faust, Death and the Civil Warexamines how the unprecedented death toll and carnage of the Civil War challenged American cultural attitudes about death and fundamentally transformed federal government policies towards soldiers. The NEH-funded documentary, produced by Emmy-award winning filmmaker Ric Burns, premiered in September on PBS as part of the American Experience series.

Event Details:

Georgetown University, Washington, DC
November 13^th, 6 p.m.
ICC Auditorium, Georgetown University
Featuring Ric Burns, writer and director of Death and the Civil War, representatives of National Defense University and Georgetown University’s History Department and Student Veterans’ Association 

This event is free and open to the public

United States Naval Academy and St. John’s College
November 14^th, 7 p.m.
Rickover Hall, U.S. Naval Academy
Featuring historians from the U.S. Naval Academy and St. John’s College and the U.S. Marine Corps Division Director of the Humanities and Social Sciences

United States Military Academy and Mount Saint Mary College
November 14, 12:50 p.m.
Haig Room, USMA Library
Featuring Civil War historians from the United States Military Academy and Mount Saint Mary College

United States Air Force Academy and Colorado College
November 14^th, 6 p.m.
Colorado College
Featuring historians from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado College, and the University of Colorado at Denver, and a representative of the U.S. Air Force Mortuary Affairs