UMR professor offers free lectures to community

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On March 31, 2005

This summer, Dr. W. Nicholas Knight, professor emeritus of English at the University of Missouri-Rolla, will host a seven-week series of free lectures on battle literature.

Knight plans to cover 34 famous historical battles in 34 lectures, which are free and open to the public. The free-standing lectures will be held noon to 1 p.m. on weekdays Monday, May 16, through Friday, July 1, in Room 203 at the UMR Wilson Library.

Knight’s first week of lectures will cover classical battles from Alexander through the French and Indian War, while his second week will cover the American Revolution. There will be no lecture Monday, May 30, due to the Memorial Day holiday, but the Napoleonic battles will be discussed during the remainder of the week. The next week’s topic is the American Civil War, and World War I and World War II will be discussed during weeks five and six, respectively. During the seventh and final week, Knight’s lectures will cover the Cold War and Korean conflict through the current war in Iraq.

Knight plans to show combat films and include visits from veterans of the battles discussed, when possible.

"Covering one major battle each day, I hope to answer what the battles were about, how they were conducted things that aren’t always common knowledge," says Knight, who has a collection of 26 miniature battle fields. "I plan to bring maps, diagrams, figurines and photographs, but the most interesting aspect should be visits from soldiers who participated in many of the battles, from D-day to the most recent wars."

For further information on the lecture series, contact Knight at (573) 341-4680.

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On March 31, 2005. Posted in News