Entertaining with Troops!

Dr. Allison Robbins will present “Entertaining with Troops: Female Impersonation in World War I Service Shows” on October 21 at 7:00 pm in the W.C. Morris Auditorium as part of the Great War History Lecture Series.

In 1918, Broadway saw numerous musical revues produced and performed by Army and Navy recruits, who sang and danced on the New York stage, some while dressed as chorus girls. The men’s female impersonation may seem at odds with their identity as soldiers soon to depart for Europe, yet audiences found these performances touching, even in their hilarity. “Beneath the rollick of dancing, song, and horseplay runs a deeper, more persistent feeling,” a critic noted, “which touches it all with heroism, even a simple manly beauty.” This lecture will explore the role female impersonation had within shows like Irving Berlin’s Yip Yip Yaphank! and consider what these soldiers’ performances meant for World War I servicemen and the audiences they entertained.

Our Boys in French Blue: Missouri Flyboys in the Lafayette Escadrille

Dr. Jessica Cannon will present the next exciting installment in the Great War Series on April 23 at 6:00 pm in Twomey Auditorium (Wood 100).  Focusing on Missouri’s connections to the Lafayette Escadrille, the talk will cover new research on two local men who joined the war effort in 1914 and talked their way past a suspicious French government and into the ranks of the aviation service.  The talk includes the war experiences of the escadrille, some context for early aviation, and the wild post-war adventures of Higginsville native Bert Hall.  

Advertisement from the Boston Post, 15 June 1918.

"The Hun in the Heartland"

Our next presentation in the Great War Series will be by Sarah Craig on March 24, at 7:00 pm in Twomey Auditorium.  Based on research for her Master's Thesis in the Department of History and Anthropology, "The Hun in the Heartland: Anti-German Sentiment in Missouri During World War I" will focus on local experiences and reactions to World War I.

Join us and discover how three German communities in Missouri--Cole Camp, Concordia, and Hermann--survived the strains of anti-German sentiment during World War I.  By analyzing the local newspapers in these communities from 1912-1919 we are able to gain a sense of how German-Americans in Missouri viewed themselves and their patriotism before, during, and after the Great War, as well as how external forces influenced changes in their communities.

Dadaism and Artistic Protest of World War I

There is a slight change to our next event: the next talk will be held March 4 at 1:00 pm in Art Center room 102 and will feature a presentation by Interior Design student Christopher M. Cooper. 

Mr. Cooper is a Senior and McNair Scholar working with Dr. Kathleen Desmond at UCM.  He will give a presentation on Dadaism and the creation of works of art that served as forms of protest against the atrocities of World War I.  By rebelling against the artistic standards and traditions, Dadaists employed 'absurdist' principles to counteract the seemingly 'logical' nature war, and violence in general, had assumed in human cultures.  This rejection of societal norms redefined what constitutes art, giving new space to creativity and political commentary in the art world.

 Poster designed by Amy Price and used with her permission.

Programming Change

Please note that the first event of the spring originally scheduled for this Thursday (Feb. 12)  has been cancelled. 

The talk has been rescheduled for April 23, 2015, at 6:00 pm in Twomey Auditorium.  Dr. Jessica Cannon will present "Our Boys in French Blue: Missouri Flyboys in the Lafayette Escadrille."  The talk is based on her current research on two local Missouri men who joined the war effort in 1914 by enlisting with French units.  Like many early American volunteers, their service began in the ambulance corps and the Foreign Legion, but quickly took them towards the exciting new weapon of war: the airplane.  The talk will discuss the broader context and propaganda significance of aviation developments in World War I by exploring the experiences and post-war lives of these two men.