X

History prof to give Piskor lecture in Canton April 12

Posted 4/4/16

CANTON -- The Frank P. Piskor Lecture will be delivered this year by Donna Alvah, associate professor of history and Margaret Vilas Chair of U.S. History, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 12, in the Sykes …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

History prof to give Piskor lecture in Canton April 12

Posted

CANTON -- The Frank P. Piskor Lecture will be delivered this year by Donna Alvah, associate professor of history and Margaret Vilas Chair of U.S. History, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 12, in the Sykes Common Room.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

The title of Alvah’s is “Beyond ‘Duck & Cover’: Fear of Nuclear War and the Protection and Empowerment of Children & Youth in the United States and Beyond.” This presentation examines concerns in the United States during the Cold War era about children and youth fearing the prospect of nuclear war. These concerns were a manifestation of an expanding general sense of adult responsibility for keeping the young from harm. Such apprehensions extended even to guarding children against the fear of harm, perceiving the fear itself as inflicting emotional and psychological injury and impeding maturation into adulthood.

Surveys of the young in and beyond the United States suggested that nuclear war did rank high among their fears, although skeptics questioned such studies. Advice for helping children and youth cope with Cold War fears recommended more education in foreign relations and politics, as well as activism; this corresponds to changing ideas about children’s rights. Alvah’s project uses documents from child development professionals, educators, parents and news sources, mostly from the United States though it also considers perspectives from other countries.

Alvah received her bachelor’s from the University of California, Irvine, and her doctorate from the University of California, Davis.

Info: 229-5998 or www.stlawu.edu/academic-affairs.