Civil War Book to Become Documentary
Posted on July 17, 2015 by Arts and Sciences
A USA Faculty Development Grant is enabling the production of an hour-long documentary,
showcasing the Civil War and how people remember it.
Dr. James Aucoin, Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication, applied for the grant in conjunction with Dr. Jessica Sheffield, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, Dr. Richard Ward, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, and Dr. Steven Trout, Chair of English and Director of the Center for the Study of War and Memory.
The documentary is based on USA's award-winning Writer-in-Residence Frye Gaillard's book, Journey to the Wilderness: War, Memory, and a Southern Family's Civil War Letters, and is told through the correspondence of Gaillard' s ancestors, illustrating their personal experiences during the war.
"I had read in bits and pieces over the past 20 years or so several Civil War letters written by my family. With the 150th anniversary of the war (2011-2015) it just seemed like a good time to pull them together and reflect on what these real-time voices were saying."
Currently, a website is being created for the documentary, which will be Alabama Public Television-quality, and the website will give the public an opportunity to engage in discussion about the Civil War.
The production of the documentary is also being assisted by the Center for the Study of War and Memory and Dr. Mel McKiven, Jr., Associate Professor of History.