WVU Tech will host the American Civil War Teacher’s Discovery Traveling Exhibit from March 3-7.
The exhibition features fabric prints depicting stories, personal letters and striking photographs from the era.
The large-scale works – one of which is 17 feet long – allow viewers to examine snippets of wartime life through a Navy recruiting poster or a telegraph announcing the surrender of Fort Sumter in 1861.
“The selected letters and photographs in these artworks show the emotion of the period,” said WVU Tech History Professor Dr. Melissa Sartore. “It’s a powerful visual supplement that offers a learning opportunity visitors may not otherwise be able to experience.”
Students of Dr. Paul Rakes’ Civil War and Reconstruction course will find particular interest in the display. “Students will be able to see the conflict as conveyed to them from the level of the common soldier,” said Dr. Rakes.
The exhibit is open to the public through the efforts of the Department of English, History and Creative Arts and with the support of the WVU Tech Convocations Committee. Students, faculty, staff and community members are encouraged to attend this beautiful and thought-provoking display of American history.
The exhibit opens Monday in the Vining Library Reserve Room. Library hours are Monday – Thursday, 8:00a.m. – 9:00p.m. and Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.