NSU commemorates WWI centennial with Women of the War exhibit

(Tahlequah, Okla.)--The stories of women on the frontlines of World War I will be on display through numerous memoirs, diaries and letters during a Women of the War exhibit at Northeastern State University running now through the end of January 2015. The exhibit pays homage to the women of the war effort as the nation marks the centennial anniversary of World War I. The awareness exhibit is located in the northwest corner of the third floor of the John Vaughan Library on the Tahlequah campus.

Forgotten Words from WWI. Dr. Melissa Strong, Ph.D., an assistant professor of English at NSU recently published the article Nurses of the Great War inOklahoma Humanitiesmagazine about women who served in the war, to commemorate the centenary of the First World War.

During her research, Strong discovered numerous memoirs, diaries and letters of women who worked in hospitals at the front, drove ambulances and served in the military; however she also discovered a trendmost of their literary contributions have either been lost or forgotten.This discovery sparked Strongs interest to incorporate the topic of women in WWI in her Womens Literature class and also to create the exhibit which runs through the end of January 2015.

Recovering or reintroducing the work of women writers, which has throughout literary history sometimes been lost, ignored, suppressed, is important in teaching literature, central to teaching womens literature, and crucial to scholarship on American women writers, which is my area of expertise, said Strong.

Lessons from the Past. In conjunction with Gary Cheatham and Sophia Threatt, librarians in the John Vaughan Library, Strong structured a lesson plan and assignments with the ultimate goal of an informative, visual exhibit accessible to the NSU community.

Graduate students in Women Writersread excerpts from accounts by two American nurses,The Forbidden Zoneby Mary Borden andThe Backwash of Warby Ellen La Motte and completed a series of assignments focused on addressing gaps in cultural memory and historical record as well as literary canon in a time where the male voice dominated literature.The students then prepared posters and annotate bibliographies for the library exhibit on topics related to the readings. Topics included soldier suicide, amputation, female nurses, and womens pursuit of non-traditional roles during the war.

During the process of identifying and securing material for the display, Gary Cheatham noticed there were relatively few monographs dealing with the role of women in the conflict, said Threatt. Although relatively few books have been published on this topic, it appears that the experiences of British and Commonwealth women have received more attention than that of American women. This was our first display about WWI, and we felt the timing was well-suited as this marks the centennial.

Focus on Women. Threatt explained that historical displays such as this one visually extend an invitation to all viewers, engage interest and expand ones knowledge, while providing a convenient platform for further exploration of the topic. Also, this exhibit allowed for focusing the lens on a specific aspect of a well-known historical event that has received little to no attention.

History is often written about the activities of men in the public sphere, many times to the exclusion of women, said Cheatham. This display helps bring attention to the fact that women have always played important roles in history and momentous events such as WWI.

Dr. Strong regularly integrates projects that share student research with the NSU community into her courses.

All of the courses I teach include a research component, and I love interactive assignments that engage different learning styles because they offer opportunities for experiential learning and unique, creative approaches to assessment, said Strong. I also love working collaboratively with colleagues, who help me think about my teaching and research in fresh, new ways.

For more information about the exhibit, contact Dr. Melissa Strong at 918-444-3613 or for viewing hours, contact the John Vaughan Library at 918-444-3235.