Columbus State University News
Spring Hallock Endowment lectures to spotlight World War II, Civil War
January 10, 2025
Updated Feb. 25: Thomas Guglielmo's lecture previously on March 13 has been rescheduled to April 17 and updated here.
Columbus State University’s Hallock Endowment for Military Studies announces its Spring 2025 lecture series lineup. Spring lectures in February and March will conclude the program’s World War II focus while also spotlighting local Civil War resources:
- Feb. 20: "Making Sense of the Battlefield: The Infantry Sensescape in Europe, 1943-45,” by Dr. Mary Louise Roberts, an American historian and author who is currently the WARF Distinguished Lucie Aubrac Progress and Plaenert Bascom Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin; 7 p.m. at 1304 Frank Brown Hall on the university’s RiverPark Campus.
- March 3: "Talking about Shipwrecked,” a co-hosted event at the nearby National Civil War Museum featuring Dr. Jonathan W. White, a Civil War naval historian, author and professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University; 7 p.m. at the National Civil War Museum.
- April 17: "Divisions: The Untold Story of Race and America's World War II Military," by Thomas A. Guglielmo, an author, professor and chair of American Studies at George Washington University; 7 p.m. at 1304 Frank Brown Hall on the university’s RiverPark Campus.
Under Dr. David Kieran’s leadership, the Hallock Endowment lecture series has deepened Columbus State’s expertise
in military history and the study of war, the military and U.S. culture. Since he joined the university’s faculty in 2023, lectures, symposia and panel discussions have examined the legacies of World War
II, the Korean War and the Iraq War.
“Military history is American history,” explained Kieran (pictured), the university’s Col. Richard R. Hallock Distinguished Chair in Military History and an associate professor in its Department of History, Geography & Philosophy. “As Columbus State students hear from leading scholars, policymakers and military leaders, they can better understand America’s role as a global superpower and the intricacies of global relations, economies and politics.”
Kieran noted that this semester's lectures will each focus on wartime from the soldier's
perspective, including African American soldiers. The National Archives notes that, even during World War II, African Americans “repeatedly [battled] adversaries
on two fronts: the enemy overseas and racism at home.” That challenge did not quash
their patriotism, and to that end, more than 2.5 million African American men registered
for the draft, and Black women volunteered in large numbers—the latter underscored
by the recently released Netflix movie “The Six Triple Eight” about the first and
only Women’s Army Corps unit of color to be stationed overseas during World War II.
Just after stepping out of then-Ft. Benning (now Fort Moore) Theater No. 4 at the conclusion of the 16th O.C.S. graduating exercises, 2nd Lts. Henry C. Harris, Jr.; Frank Frederick Doughton; Elmer B. Kountze; and Rogers H. Beardon (behind) start pinning their brass bars on each other's shoulders. Source: National Archives
The Hallock Endowment’s most recent year-long study of the 70th anniversary of the
Korean armistice concluded with a two-week study abroad excursion to South Korea.
Underwritten by Hyundai Motor Group, the trip allowed a dozen Columbus State students to visit several Korean War conflict
sites, U.S. military installations, think tanks and consular offices highlighted in
their classroom studies and Hallock lectures.
Kieran said he and other Columbus State faculty members are already planning the 2025-26 lecture series on the Vietnam War, the 50th-anniversary commemoration of which ends on Veterans Day 2025. He added that new internships and study abroad opportunities will be available so students “can deepen their military history studies, develop their professional skills and explore history careers outside the classroom.”
For questions regarding the upcoming lecture series, contact the Hallock Endowment for Military History staff at hallockendowment@columbusstate.edu.
Featured news image: Members of an African American mortar company of the 92nd Division pass the ammunition and heave it over at the Germans in an almost endless stream near Massa, Italy. This company is credited with liquidating several machine gun nests. Source: National Archives.
Media contact: Michael Tullier, APR, Executive Director of Strategic Communication + Marketing, 706.507.8729, mtullier@columbusstate.edu
