Centennial talk examines America in World War I

As the United States marks the centennial of its entry into World War I, the Society for Military History’s president will visit UofL to discuss the American war involvement March 23.

Jennifer Keene’s free, public lecture, “Americans at War: Experiencing World War I,” will begin at 6 p.m. in Chao Auditorium, Ekstrom Library, with a reception afterward.

The event is part of the Louis R. Gottschalk lecture series, which the College of Arts and Sciences’ history department hosts to promote the study of history and to honor Gottschalk, a former UofL professor and American Historical Association president.

Keene will discuss how the war meant separation, combat and loss for millions but also social advancement, adventure and victory to others. She will talk about how ordinary Americans experienced the war's tragedies and triumphs.

The author is Chapman University’s history department chair. She has published three books on U.S. World War I involvement: “Doughboys, the Great War and the Remaking of America,” “The United States and the First World War” and “World War I.”

She also was lead author for the history textbook “Visions of America: A History of the United States” and associate editor of the Encyclopedia of War and American Society, which won the Society of Military History’s 2005 prize for best military history reference book. Keene is also an advisory board member of the International Society for First World War Studies.

The Society for Military History will host its annual conference in Louisville next year.