Contact: Sarah Nicholas

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State University is hosting the inaugural workshop of the Second World War Research Group-North America featuring award-winning military historian and author Robert Citino as the keynote speaker.

Taking place Monday [Sept. 24], the international organization dedicated to the study of WWII will host “Changing Landscapes: the Environment of the Second World War.” The workshop provides participants a forum to reflect on new ways to view conflict.

Author of numerous books on the German Army during WWII, Citino also is the senior historian at The National WWII Museum.

All sessions are in the Grisham Room of Mitchell Memorial Library and are free to the public. Opening remarks are at 8:45 with panels and sessions scheduled throughout the day. Citino’s address begins at 4:30 p.m.

In addition to Citino’s keynote, papers will be presented by distinguished World War II scholars from the U.S. and Canada, including Conrad Crane of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center; Robert Engen of Royal Military College of Canada; Robert Jefferson of University of New Mexico; Benjamin Jones of Dakota State University; Kristin Mulready-Stone of the Naval War College; Katrin Paehler of Illinois State University; and Phillip Rutherford of Marshall University.

“The papers presented focus on numerous ‘landscapes of war,’ including race, disease, gender, hunger and conscription, and invite the audience to discuss cultural aspects of the war,” said Kathryn Barbier, MSU history professor and event organizer.

Alan Marcus, head of MSU’s Department of History, said, “The prominence of our War, Power and International Affairs Node of Excellence—one of the pillars of our Ph.D. program—enabled us to attract these prestigious scholars.”

Marcus said the workshop helps visiting scholars, faculty and students share interpretations and perspectives and engage in an “intimate exchange of knowledge,” which results in a “fuller understanding of the war and a greater appreciation of MSU scholars’ roles in providing that more comprehensive framework.”

For the presenters, this is “an opportunity to discuss current research with each other, other scholars and graduate students,” Barbier said.

In addition to SWWRG-NA, sponsors include MSU’s Department of History, MSU-Meridian, The National World War II Museum and the Society for Military History.

For more on SWWRG-NA, visit https://www.swwresearch.com/north-america. For more information about the MSU workshop, contact Barbier at kathryn.barbier@msstate.edu.

MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences includes more than 5,300 students, 300 full-time faculty members, nine doctoral programs and 25 academic majors offered in 14 departments. Complete details about the College of Arts and Sciences or the history department may be found at www.cas.msstate.edu or www.history.msstate.edu.   

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.