PEOPLE'S UNIVERSITY: The First World War, Class 2
April 11, 2017
7:00pm - 7:00pm
Within a matter of just a few weeks in the summer of 1914, millions of Europeans were called to the colors in what at time many thought would be a short, glorious war after which the boys would be home by Christmas. What they got, instead, was slaughter on an industrial scale made possible by all the new technologies of warfare including machine guns, quick-firing artillery, barbed wire, poison gas, airplanes, U-boats, and much more. Join us as we examine the failure of the opening offensives, followed by the horrors of trench warfare as both sides tried desperately to break the stalemate. Meanwhile, on the home front, economic and social life became increasingly regimented as governments mobilized every segment of the country to carry the war to a final victory worthy of the enormous sacrifices.
Dr. Kappel is Perry E. and Aleece C. Gresham Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Bethany College. He earned his B.A. at Bethany College, and his M.A. and Ph.D. at West Virginia University.
In keeping with the mission of public libraries as sanctuaries of free learning for all people, the Ohio County Public Library created The People’s University, a free program for adults who wish to continue their education in the liberal arts. The People’s University features courses—taught by experts in each subject—that enable patrons to pursue their goal of lifelong learning in classic subjects such as history, philosophy, and literature.
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