Liberty University Civil War Seminar 2009

The Reel Civil War: The Civil War in the Cinema

"Clubs Are Trumps" By Dale Gallon Image courtesy of Gallon Historical Art Gettysburg, PA www.gallon.com

Schedule of Events: March 27 - 29, 2009

Friday Night
Location: The Kirkley Hotel

Saturday
Location: The Arthur S. DeMoss Learning Center

In addition to the speakers' presentations, there will be numerous exhibits of Civil War artifacts and memorabilia for the public, vendors of Civil War items, and a special exhibit of Civil War movie posters.

Sunday Morning

Rev. Alan Farley of Reenactors Mission for Jesus Christ will be speaking in the Whorley Prayer Chapel on the campus of Liberty University.

Our Special Guest Speakers:

Katherine Lane Antolini

Katherine Lane Antolini holds an M.A. in Sociology from Rutgers and an M.A. in Public History from West Virginia University. She will defend her dissertation, Memorializing Motherhood; The Celebration of Mather's Day in the Early twentieth Century this year at West Virginia University.  She also teaches American History and Women's History at West Virginia Wesleyan College, and is a trustee of the International Mother's Day Schrine in Grafton, West Virginia, which commemorates the origins of Mother's Day within the Civil War. 

Paul G. Ashdown

Dr. Paul Ashdown, Professor of Journalism and Eletronic Media, received a B.S. in journalism and an M.A. in journalism and communications from the University of Florida and ac Ph.D. in radio/TV/film and popular culture from Bowling Green State University.  Dr. Ashdown was a correspondent with United Press International in Miami and Atlanta, a reporter with the Gainesville (FL) Sun, a copy editor with the Owensboro (KY) Messenger-Inquirer, and an information officer with the Florida Department of Agriculture.  He previously taught at the University of Southern Colorado, the University of Toledo and Western Kentucky University.  He was a visiting professor at the School of Journalism in Utrecht, The Netherlands, and The University of Bonn, Germany.  He studied and lectured in India in 1995 on a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship.  His books and publications include Agee Agonistes: Essays on the Life, Legend, and Works of James Agee, "For as Long as I Can Remember": James Agee and the Civil War.  Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, A Cold Mountain Companion.

Brenda Ayres

A full professor in the Department of English and Modern Languages, Dr. Ayres calls herself a Victorianist.  She has published widely in 19th-century British scholarship, including twelve books to date, and regularly presents papers at conferences and publishes scholarly articles.  Her latest work is a four-volume set on Frances Trollope. At LU, she coordinates the Victorian Society (currently 220 members) and helps put on the Civil War Seminar each spring. 

Bruce Chadwick

Author Bruce Chadwick, Ph. D. will speak on "The Reel Civil War: Myth Making in American Film," a presentation on how motion pictures have contributed heavily to our collective national mythos about the Civil War.  Chadwick lectures on history and film at Rutgers University in New Jersey.  He also taught writing at New Jersey City University.  Previously, he had a long career in journalism, writing on arts and entertainment, a column on trends in American culture - including literature, film, dance, theatre and opera - and features and many columns on sports.  He had worked as an editor at The New York Daily News and is the author of The Reel Civil War: Mythmaking in American Film & 1858: Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant and the Way They Failed to See.

Ken Elston

Elston will speak on "Raising the Ghost: Composing Engaging Theatre from the Story of John S. Mosby."  He is Professor of Theatre at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and the Resident Theatre Artist at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.  He teaches acting and directing with a specialty in movement for the stage and one-person show development.  He recently coached for the play The Civil War for the Prince William Little Theatre.  As as actor Elston has appeared on stage in the productions of Rashoman, Romeo and Juliet, The Country Wife, Dangerous Corner, and The Cherry Orchard and in such television shows as The Sopranos and Unsolved Mysteries.

Kevin Hershberger

Kevin Hersberger of Lions Gate Films will speak on "Civil War Cinema in  the 21st Century: Authenticity and Honesty Above All Else."  Hershberger is the founder and president of LionHeart FilmWorks, LLC.  His productions include such Civil War films as Wicked Spring, No Retreat from Destiny, and Far, Far from Home.  His latest production is Gettysburg: Darkest Days and Finest Hours.  In addition to his roles as producer and director, he has also appeared in several films, among them Battlefield Detective, Glory, Gettysburg, and Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided.

Ronald F. Maxwell

Ronald F. Maxwell grew up in New Jersey.  He enrolled as a theatre major at New York University College of Arts and Sciences where his work in NYU's theatre program earned him an invitation and scholarship to attend the New York University Graduate School of the Arts, Institute of Film and Television.  Upon graduation, he worked in Spain as Charlton Heston's personal assistant in Heston's directorial debut, "Anthony and Cleopatra."  In 1974-1978, Ron worked with Jac Venza at WHET-13, NYC, as an associate producer and subsequently producer for the Emmy and Peabody Award winning series "Theatre in America."  At WNET he produced "Sea Marks," starring George Hearn and Veronica Castnag.   In 1978, he produced and directed Sissy Spacek, Bill Hurt, Sally Kellerman and Howard de Dilva in "Verna: USO Girl" for which Ron received a best director Emmy nomination.  Ron was then "drafted" to Hollywood where his first theatrical film, "Little Darlings," opened at #1 on Variety's Top Hundred Grossing Films and has since become a classic of the genre.  Subsequently, he directed "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia," "Kidco," "Parent Trap II," "In the Land of the Poets" -- a feature-length documentary on the Nicaraguan civil war -- and the landmark film "Gettysburg," which has been hailed as one of the greatest war movies in the history of film.  Since then, Ron has produced, written and directed the film "Gods and Generals," the pre-quel to "Gettysburg."  Currently, Ron is in pre-production of "Joan of Arc: Virgin Warror" and in long range prep on "Last Full Measure," the final part of his Civil War Trilogy. 

Mel Reid

Mel Reid, a veteran Civil War reenactor and member of the Company B, 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, Reenactors of Washington, D. C., will speak on "Glory: Twenty Years after the Fact."  Reid currently serves as a National Park Service Regional Manager stationed in Washington, D. C. In 1988 he served as an advisor and extra in Glory, the landmark film about the 54th Massachusetts' immortal assault on Fort Wagner during the North's prolonged siege of Charleston.

Kenny Rowlette

Professor Kenny Rowlette, Associate Professor of English and Director of the National Civil  War Chaplains Museum, will speak on "The Civil War Films of the Centennial Celebration (1961-1965)."  A reenactor for nearly nineteen years, Rowlette has been a member of the 11th VA, Company G, the 105th PA, Company C, and Company C, United States Sharp Shooters (Berdan's Sharpshooters).  He has an avid interest in the sharpshooters of the CSA and US armies during the Civil War.  Rowlette is also the Co-Chair of the Liberty University Civil War Seminar.

David Sachsman

David Sachsman, the George R. West, Jr. Chair of Excellence in Communication and Public Affairs and Professor of Communication at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, will speak on: Memory and Myth: The Civil War in Fiction and Film."  He is also the chair of the annual Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression which addresses the U.S. mass media of the 19th century and is held annually at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.  Sachsman's publications include Memory and Myth: The Civil War in Fiction and Film from Uncle Tom's Cabin to Cold Mountain and Words at War: The Civil War and American Journalism.

Lee Webb

Lee Webb serves as the news anchor for The 700 Club, the news/magazine flagship program of The Christian Broadcasting Network.  He also anchors Newswatch, CBN's half-hour daily news program.  As a 31-year veteran in the television news buiness, Webb brings a wealth of expertise and credibility to CBN News.  In addition to his career in broadcast journalism, Webb was a captain in the Florida Army National Guard.  During his eight years of reserve military service, he deployed to Central America twice and Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield.

Brian Wills

A nationally recognized Civil War historian, Wills is the author of "Gone with the Glory: The Civil War in Cinema," "The War Hits Home: The Civil War in Southeastern Virginia" and "The Confederacy's Greatest Cavalryman: Nathan Bedford Forrest," along with numberous scholarly articles, essays and book reviews.  A member of the UVA-Wise faculty since 1992, Wills is the 2000 recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Award presented by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.  He also received the UVA-Wise Outstanding Teaching Award in 1998 and the Outstanding Research Award in 1995.  In 2003, Wills was named the Kenneth Asbury Professor of History in recognitionn of his accomplishments as a scholar, teacher and leader.

Seminar Admission Info:

In addition the Friday night Banquet and the Saturday Luncheon, both which feature antebellum menus and entertainment, there will be special door prizes and an exhibits.

On Sunday morning there will be a Period Church Service held in the Whorley Prayer Chapel at LU with special speaker, Rev. Alan Farley.

The presentations on Saturday will be held in Arthur S. DeMoss Learning Center on the campus of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. Everyone is encouraged to secure reservations for this seminar by Wednesday, March 25. If you register before March 1st, admission to the seminar is $60 (which includes all of the seminar sessions, the Friday night banquet, and Saturday’s luncheon). Between March 1st and March 25th, admission is $65. After March 25, 2009, the price for both days is $75. Admission to the Seminar for Friday only is $35; admission for Saturday only is $40.

Lodging Info:

Special lodging rates at the Kirkley Hotel of Lynchburg are available for those who will be attending the seminar. For pricing and location of lodging, call 434-237-6333 or 866-510-6333. You may also visit their website at www.kirkleyhotel.com/contact.html. Due to limited rooms, please make your reservations by March 18, 2009.

For special group pricing for the seminar or more information, call 434-592-4366 or email klburdeaux@liberty.edu.

More Information

• For more information, please call the LU History Department at 434-592-4366 or email Kristina Burdeaux at klburdeaux@liberty.edu.
• To register, click here: Civil War Registration Form then, print, fill out and mail to Liberty University History Dept. Civil War Seminar, 1971 University Blvd., Lynchburg, VA 24502
• For a map of Lynchburg, click here: Lynchburg City Map
• CEU credits are available for this seminar. For more information, please call Center for Professional and Continuing Education at 434-592-4718, or email at cpce@liberty.edu.  Please visit their website at www.liberty.edu/cpce.