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Three Cultures of the Civil War Symposium
| Who:
| Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority (FMFADA) is an 18 member body consisting of appointees from the city of Hampton, the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate and the Virginia governor's cabinet, with two specialists in historic preservation and heritage tourism. Their task is to study, plan and recommend the best use of the resources that will remain when the army closes the base in 2011. |
| What: |
A series of Historic Scholarship Symposia will take place during 2008-2009 to evaluate public educational opportunities associated with the different periods represented during the Fort's 400-year existence as a military site. The Fort Monroe FADA wants to encourage tourism and quality educational and entertaining experiences for the public by accessing leading national educators for ideas that will aid them in the planning and decision making process.
The first in a series of Historic Scholarship Symposia is "Fort Monroe: Three Cultures of the Civil War" The aim of the symposium is to give outstanding scholars an opportunity to explore the stories and viewpoints of the North, South and American-American cultures in and around Fort Monroe from 1860 to 1870. Following a two-day series of discussions, the scholars will present their recommendations to the Fort Monroe FADA board at its meeting on January 4. |
| When: |
Symposium: January 2-3, 2008
Recommendations: January 4, 2008 1:00 PM (public meeting) |
| Where: |
Symposium: Hampton History Museum, Hampton, VA
Recommendations: Bay Breeze Community Center, Fort Monroe |
| Why:
| History is interpreted through the eyes of the people telling the story. Fort Monroe is a place that invites us to tell the Civil War story from three very different cultural perspectives. The African-Americans who found freedom under the fort's protection, the northern soldiers stationed there, and the southern citizens and troops who maintained fortifications around the site all interacted to create an epic story. The symposium offers an opportunity to use ethnography to show a nation in crisis from these three unique viewpoints. |
| Background: |
In 2011 the Army will leave Fort Monroe, a designated National Historic Landmark, as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decision. |
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