Event Photographs

February 3 - April 5, 2019 - ARTISTIC EXPRESSION THROUGH CONFLICT: 1939-1945

“Artistic Expression through Conflict: 1939-1945” focuses on the many artistic methods individuals used to tackle the circumstances of war.  Contributors to this exhibit experienced the war on all fronts and likewise used all forms of art to document those experiences. Unlike letters and photographs, this art was not subject to the same censorship. These forms of art are significant then as they illustrate the complex and authentic emotions of the individual. While this exhibit is open to the general public, it will especially attract those interested in art and history.

October 18, 2018 - Annual Fall Lecture with Dr. Jonathan Grant

Jonathan Grant is a Professor of History at Florida State University and a specialist in modern Russian history. He has authored Between Depression and Disarmament: The International Armaments Business, 1919-1939 (2018), Rulers, Guns, and Money (2007), and Big Business in Russia: The History of the Putilov Company in Late Imperial Russia, 1868-1917 (1999). This lecture focused on the business effects of disarmament discussions in Eastern Europe prior to World War II, and the connections between business, arms trade, disarmament, and re-armament.

March 13 - April 16, 2018 - Artistic Expression through Conflict: The Use of Art in World War II Exhibit

“Artistic Expression through Conflict: The Use of Art in World War II” focuses on the many artistic methods individuals used to tackle the circumstances of war.  Contributors to this exhibit experienced the war on all fronts and likewise used all forms of art to document those experiences. Unlike letters and photographs, this art was not subject to the same censorship. These forms of art are significant then as they illustrate the complex and authentic emotions of the individual. While this exhibit is open to the general public, it will especially attract those interested in art and history.

February 16, 2018 - Letters in Troubled Times: Evaluating Epistolary Sources

This conference brought together scholars of Austrian and American history along with others who have an interest in evaluating and utilizing letters from the past as sources. Representatives of the Austrian Migrant Letter Collection project, sponsored by the University of Salzburg, discussed some of their findings. Representatives from the History Department and World War II Institute at Florida State University provided insights from their collections. The organizers welcomed other scholars with expertise in epistolary critique as well as those interested in Austrian migration more broadly. After the conference, the group plans to publish a selection of papers in a special edition of the Journal of Austrian-American History. 

February 6, 2018 - Annual Spring Lecture with Ronit Stahl

Ronit Y. Stahl is a historian of modern America. Her book, Enlisting Faith: How the Military Chaplaincy Shaped Religion and State in Modern America, was just published by Harvard University Press and she has published commentaries and op-eds in venues including the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, and Religion & Politics. She is a fellow in the Department of Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania and previously held a postdoctoral position at Washington University in St. Louis. She earned her Ph.D. in History from the University of Michigan. This talk explores how the Four Chaplains came to symbolize a particular form of mid-century religious pluralism --- what a postage stamp deemed "Interfaith in Action"--- and how that legacy has evolved in the military and American society writ large.

September 19, 2017 - Annual Fall Lecture with Peter Dunbar

The lecture "A Son Discovers His Father’s War: Before They Were the Black Sheep,” was presented by distinguished public servant, lawyer, and FSU alumnus Peter M. Dunbar.  Mr. Dunbar’s lecture will follow the story of his father, Carl O. Dunbar, and his time in a Marine Corps fighter squadron in the Pacific Theatre of World War II.  Mr. Dunbar has many accolades to his credit. Currently, he is the managing attorney of the Tallahassee office of Dean, Mead & Dunbar law firm and is an honors graduate from the College of Law at Florida State University.  For ten years, Mr. Dunbar served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives; and he served two terms as a member of the Florida Commission on Ethics and was the Commission’s Chair in 1999 and 2000.  He is also the author of 5 books on community association housing, though his most recent book, Before They Were the Black Sheep, is a historical account of a Marine Corps fighter squadron during the Battle for the Solomon Islands in 1943.

March 30-April 2, 2017 - 84th Annual Meeting of the Society for Military History

2017 Annual Meeting
84th Annual Meeting of the Society for Military History
“Global War: Historical Perspectives”
March 30-April 2, 2017
Jacksonville, FL
Hosted by the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience
Department of History
Florida State University

Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront Jacksonville, Florida

November 12, 2012 - Five Historians Reflect on WWII, A Program Honoring the Career of John Chambers

This event was a collaboration between Fordham University and the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience.