Great War Series commemorates WWI

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

The Oklahoma State University Edmon Low Library continues its four-year series of lectures about World War I and its aftermath. “The Great War and Its Legacy, 1914-1918” will continue on Oct. 20 at 3:30 p.m. in the Peggy V. Helmerich Browsing Room, Edmon Low Library.

The series honors WWI’s centenary by highlighting the War’s major impacts on life and culture worldwide. Specifically, the series focuses on how World War I had lasting impressions on our current world.

Matthew Schauer, assistant professor of the History of the British Empire at Oklahoma State University, is the first speaker of the semester and will focus on the war in Africa.

“Most people know of the African campaigns in World War II, but the history of World War I in Africa is not as well known,” said David Oberhelman, W.P. Wood Professor of Library Service and coordinator of the series. “Dr. Schauer will be showing how many of the conflicts and issues affecting Africa today had their roots in World War I.”

Schauer will focus his discussion on an overview of major events in Africa during the war and examine the brutal nature of the African campaign. He will also explore the experience of war for the hundreds of thousands of African soldiers, known as askaris, who served in Africa and on the Western Front.

Oberhelman said the talk will give students, faculty and the larger community insight into the historical and political turmoil in Africa during World War I, and how it shaped many of the problems the African continent faces today.

He added an interesting part of Schauer’s lecture is the British’s attempt to camouflage horses by painting them to look like zebras.

“The Great War and Its Legacy, 1914-1918” series is made possible through funding from the OSU Library and the Wood Professorship for Library Science. Related events are free and open to the public. For more information on the series visit http://info.library.okstate.edu/greatwar.

Story By: Casey Schmitz