Faculty Chat: The Civil War and Modern Memory
The American Civil War was fought and won, but in significant ways persists still. In advance of his upcoming course The Civil War: Past and Present, BISR faculty member Jude Webre sat down with fellow faculty member and historian Suzanne Schneider to discuss the historical legacy of the War and the fraught politics of remembrance. Though effectively ending slavery, the War by no means destroyed white supremacy. Why did it fail? Was a better outcome possible? Why is Civil War historiography important, and why are the causes of the War argued over still? How is the War contested in contemporary politics and culture (including in professional sports), and what are the changing meanings of icons, monuments and symbols of remembrance? The conversation begins in earnest at the 1:04 mark.