After the Scourge of War – 13th Annual Civil War Symposium
KENNESAW, Ga. (Mar 21, 2016) — The Center for the Study of the Civil War Era hosted its 13th annual symposium around the theme of “After the Scourge of War” to address the lasting impact war has on national development. Presenters at this year’s symposium challenged audience members to examine the underlying causes of war because war does not truly resolve the societal tensions of a nation. These tensions continue to shape the future of a nation after the conflict is over. War affects all facets of a nation: the political, economic and even emotional. These facets, as history has evidenced, are rarely neat and tidy, although studying them holds lessons from the past that shape the present and the future in America as well as across the globe.
2016 marks the 10th anniversary of the Civil War Center. This milestone highlights the instrumental ways in which the Center has become a treasured resource for students and community members alike. The Center hosts a traditional library and on-line resources for all interested audiences, offered programs that supported the Civil War Sesquicentennial and enhanced a partnership with Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park as well as other local historical groups, and sponsors special events on topics ranging from slavery and civilians to Civil War and Civil Rights. Additionally, the Center has led tours of historic sites and provided the historic underpinnings for the Kennesaw Mountain Staff Ride for Executive Leaders that Dean Robin Dorff helped to establish at KSU.
The Center focuses on providing quality programming that reflects academic inquiry and greater understanding of the causes, nature and effects of the bloodiest conflict in American history. Many economic, social and governmental issues America continues to grapple with today can be traced to the events leading up to and emanating from the conflict of 1861-65. The Director of the Center, Dr. Brian Wills, is the Jones Distinguished Visiting Professor at Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC, for this semester.
