The Civil War was a pivotal period in American history. Throughout the war, Pennsylvania played a crucial role. Its history as a colonial center and bastion of industry made it an important place for a variety of reasons. In the years after the war, Pennsylvania would continue to play a prominent role in colonial and post-colonial affairs.
At the time of the war, Penn State was an agricultural institution, but a series of successive classes helped it broaden its scope. Some of the students who went to war returned to campus. Others left, joining militias. And sometimes tensions erupted on campus. These were just a few examples.
After the war, some of the people who had volunteered to serve in the Confederate army returned to Farm School to help educate the next generation of farmers. Others, such as Mordecai Lewis, left to fight for the Confederacy. But many students, including those who had fought for the Union, returned.
The film course HIST 131N, The Civil War in Film, will explore the relationship between film, media, and culture, and will teach students about the political and economic implications of films. Students will also learn about the various models of engagement that are available to them throughout Penn State. They will also be encouraged to become civic-minded citizens. This will be done through discussions of different forms of power, such as democratic decision making across differences, as well as through examining how the media shape our collective historical memories.
The course will discuss how different filmmakers portrayed slavery, and will analyze different media’s role in constructing collective histories. The course will also discuss the commercial demands of filmmaking and the fidelity of films to their historical record.
In the course, students will learn how the conflict affected civilian communities. One battle served as a defining moment in the Civil War. Another helped redefine the identity of a university, and the promise of higher education to a new generation of Americans.
During the Civil War, the state of Pennsylvania was at the forefront of colonial and post-colonial affairs. For instance, the state legislature officially designated Penn State as the sole land-grant institution in April 1863. Several students from the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania were also called to fight for the Confederacy. By the end of the war, Pennsylvania was at the forefront of the industrial revolution. As a result, a new generation of experts was educated at Penn State.
In the course, students will be exposed to a variety of documentary and feature-length films that explore the impact of the Civil War on society. While some will focus on specific topics, such as the impact of the war on the civilian population, other movies will be more general in their discussion of the impact of the war on the nation as a whole.
Some of the movies will be accompanied by an intermission. If you’d like to attend, pre-registration is required. THON (Teaching Helps Out) will also be helping with the event, which will include free popcorn.
