Saturday, April 27, 2013; 9 a.m.

Location: University of Southern Maine, Hannaford Hall, Portland, ME

Contact: Larissa Vigue Picard; 207-774-1822 x215

Website: mainehistory.org/programs

Maine Humanities Council and Maine Historical Society are pleased to invite the public to a day-long symposium marking the mid-point of the Civil War sesquicentennial. The Symposium will take place at University of Southern Maine’s Hannaford Hall.

National and state-based speakers will address the beginnings of the Civil War; its causes, constituencies, politics, and personalities; cultural aspects of the Civil War era; and the why War still matters to us 150 years later.

Plenary speakers include Manisha Sinha, Professor of Afro-American Studies, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, on Emancipation during the Civil War; and Patrick Rael, Associate Professor of History, Bowdoin College, on Maine in the Civil War.

Breakout sessions include:

- Libby Bischof, Assistant Professor of History, University of Southern Maine, on Civil War photography

- Cedric Gael Bryant, Lee Family Professor of English at Colby College, on literature of the era

- Gretchen Long, Associate Professor of History and Chair of Africana Studies Program, Williams College, on Civil War-era medical practices, with a focus on how African-Americans experienced care

- Richard Sautter, Pennsylvania Humanities Council Commonwealth speaker and Adjunct Instructor of Theatre, Messiah College, on the role of the theater during the Civil War

And enjoy a special field music presentation from the 3rd Maine Infantry Fife and Drum Corps!

Advance registration required. $35 general public; $20 students. To register, please visit www.mainehumanities.org.