Keynote speakers will be part
SEVEN-HOUR EVENT WILL BRING TOP-LEVEL EXPERTS TO CITY ... THERE WILL BE A DISPLAY OF MEMORABILIA
Sunderland is turning the spotlight on the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War with a major conference. The brutal and global conflict, which caused so much struggle and loss for Wearside, comes under the attention of the University of Sunderland this Saturday. It is hosting the event from 9am to 4pm at the Hope Street X-Change. Anyone who wants to attend is welcome to come along to the conference which reflects on some of the key issues which influenced the war. The one-day event has been convened by the School of Culture at the University of Sunderland and it is called Propaganda, Revolution and Victory. The keynote speakers will be Peter Hart, who will give a talk on The Last Battle. Peter is a well-known historian who was born in Stanhope and who has lectured and written several books on the First World War. Also speaking will be Taylor Downing, who is the author of Secret Warriors, Key Scientists, Code Breakers and Propagandists of the Great War. There are many other major figures who have also been scheduled to speak. Dr Ingrid Sharp and Dr Corrine Painter, of the University of Leeds, will highlight the topic ‘Finding the Women: German Revolutionaries 1918-19’. Three speakers from the University of Sunderland have been lined up to give speeches. Dr Andre Keil will give a talk which is titled ‘The Ordeal of Victory: Demobilisation and the Crisis of 1919 in Britain’. Dr Sarah Hellawell will put the focus on ‘Students in North East England and the Promotion of an International Community after the Great War’. And Professor Angela Smith spotlights the issue of ‘Sympathy and Suspicion: the state’s surveillance of widows of the First World War’. Members of the Sunderland Antiquarian Society will also be there to help with a display featuring local memorabilia and photographs. And the society’s Trevor Thorne is playing his own part in raising awareness of the war and how Wearside marked the Armistice. He will be presenting an exhibition on ‘Sunderland and the Great War’. Also, Trevor has had his home-front book – which is called ‘Sunderland and the First World War’ – re-printed.