2022 VIRGINIA FORUM PROGRAM
Thursday, April 7th
4–6PM: REGISTRATION & TOURS in the ROBINS LOBBY, VA WAR MEMORIAL
5-6PM: Opening Session
“How Will We Look When Man in the Great Future Shall Gaze Back Upon Us?” Comics and Conflict: An Illustrated Account of Faith during the Civil War
Location: Veterans Hall East
Dash Shaw — Independent Artist and Author
Raised as a Quaker in Richmond, Virginia, Dash Shaw is a prolific cartoonist, animator, writer and director. His graphic novel, Discipline, tells the story of a Quaker teen who defies the pacifism of his faith to join the Union Army. Shaw will discuss how he incorporated the words of real Quaker soldiers to convey the harsh experiences of war with historical deference. Civil War era illustrations by Thomas Nast, Winslow Homer, and others influenced the aesthetic style of Discipline. Scenes taking place in Virginia are featured and depict lesser-known parts of the Commonwealth’s history with that brutal war.
7PM: Virginia Forum attendees are welcome to gather on Thursday night, April 7, for a networking social. This is a great opportunity to meet fellow history enthusiasts from around the Commonwealth. Please join us at Canon & Draw where craft beer and food will be available for purchase. Canon & Draw is located at 1529 W. Main St, Richmond, VA 23220
**One panel per session will be livestreamed.**
Friday, April 8th
8AM: Registration opens in Robins Lobby
830–10AM: SESSION I
1. Suzanne Lebsock and Virginia Women’s History: A Retrospective Panel Discussion
Location: Veterans Hall East
Chair: Sandra G. Treadway, Librarian of Virginia, Library of Virginia
Elizabeth R. Varon, Williams Prof. of History, University of Virginia
Woody Holton, McCausland Prof. of History, University of South Carolina
Vanessa M. Holden, Assoc. Prof. of History & African Amer. Studies, Univ. of Kentucky
Jennifer Ritterhouse, Professor of History, George Mason University
2. (Re)Naming & Commemorating Virginia Locations
Location: VMI Alumni Hall
Chair: Laura Macaluso, Independent Scholar & Writer
Point Comfort National Emancipation Memorial
Steven T. Corneliussen, Independent Scholar
Welcome to the Hometown of Robert E. Lee: How Alexandria Embraced its Confederate Identity in the Mid-20th Century
Amy Bertsch, Instructor of History, Northern Virginia Community College
'But they were Christians': White Memory and College Renaming in Martinsville VA
Shawn McAvoy, Assoc. Prof. of History & Religious Studies, Patrick Henry CC
10-1015AM: BREAK
Location: Schumann Conference Room and Veterans Hall West
Complimentary coffee, tea, and light snacks.
1015–1145AM: SESSION II
3. Challenging White Narratives and Reclaiming Spaces
Location: Veterans Hall East
Chair: Alphine Jefferson, Prof. of History, Randolph-Macon College
‘They took complete possession of the day and of the city; the highways, the byways, and Capitol Square’: The Politics of Emancipation Celebrations in Virginia in the Early Twentieth Century
Evie Terrono, Prof. of Art History, Randolph-Macon College
‘A Different Vision for Richmond’: Urban Revitalization, Public History, and the Reimagining of Space and Race in Richmond, Virginia, 1978–Present
Marvin Chiles, Asst. Prof. of History, Old Dominion University
Material Culture, Community Engagement, and BLM Protests in Richmond, Virginia
Incoronata (Nadia) Inserra, Asst. Prof. of Focused Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University
4. “Too Much for One Mere Man”: Finding Women at the Polls and on the Campaign Trail
Location: VMI Alumni Hall
Chair: Brent Tarter, Independent Scholar
A Snapshot of Virginia: Looking at Voter Registrations
Barbara Batson, Exhibitions Coord., Library of Virginia
‘Many offices in Virginia will be filled by women’: Women Running for Office in the 1920s
Mari Julienne, Editor, Dictionary of Virginia Biography
Lynchburg Women in Politics, 1920–1970
Ted Dulany, Director, Lynchburg Museum
5. Contested Justice for Virginia Emigrants to Liberia
Location: Russell Scott Hall
Chair: Stephanie J. Richmond, Assoc. Prof. of History, Norfolk State University
The Herndon Appeal: Revealing the Complexities of Antislavery and the Colonization Movement in Virginia
Deborah A. Lee, Independent Scholar
Resources for the Virginia Emigrants to Liberia Project
Jane E. Ailes, Independent Scholar
Complexity of Emigration Process
Worthy N. Martin, Dir., Inst. for Advanced Technology in the Humanities (UVA)
1145AM–130PM: LUNCH
Location: Veterans Art Gallery
Boxed lunches served in the Veterans Art Gallery.
6. Lunch Discussion Session, 1215–115pm
Location: Russell Scott Hall
“The Great Experiment”: Re-Debating the Electoral College in Virtual Reality
Kevin Hardwick, Prof. of History, James Madison University
Warren Hofstra, Prof. of History, Shenandoah University
Mohammad F. Obeid, Dir. Augmented/Virtual Reality, Shenandoah University
J. J. Ruscella, Chief Immersive Officer & Executive Vice President, AccessVR
The virtual reality demonstration will be available for viewing throughout the day on Friday.
130–3PM: SESSION III
7. Violence in Virginia’s Past
Location: Veterans Hall East
Chair: Catherine Saunders, Term Prof. of English, George Mason University
A Pestilent and Prevalent Logical Discourse: Violence and Rhetoric in Bacon’s Rebellion
Nicholas Mohlmann, Asst. Prof. of English, University of West Florida
‘A Cruel Punishment’: The Story of Martha Ann Banks and Ann Catherine Abrahams
Anne Cross, Ph.D. Cand. in Art History, University of Delaware
8. The Great Unmasking: Coming Face to Face with Difficult History Hidden in Plain View
Location: Russell Scott Hall
Chair: David Kiracofe, Prof. of History, Tidewater Community College
Unmasking the Stories of Slavery: Building an Understanding of Early American Material Culture
Heidi Campbell-Shoaf, Dir. & Chief Curator, DAR Museum
Unmasking the Truths Behind Acquisitions: We Have the Objects to Tell Marginalized Stories, but Should We Use Them?
Bly Straube, Senior Curator at Jamestown Settlement, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Unmasking Hard Truths: Beyond the Object Labels at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown
Kate Egner Gruber, Act. Dir. of Curatorial Services, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
9. Finding and Unmasking Women’s Civil War Experiences
Location: VMI Alumni Hall
Chair: Madeleine Forrest Ramsey, Asst. Prof. of History, Virginia Military Institute
Finding the Browns Island Victims
Bert Dunkerly, Park Ranger, Richmond National Battlefield Park
Unmasking ‘Mother Crim’: The Rise and Persistence of a Lost Cause Heroine in the Shenandoah Valley
Susan Hines, Independent Scholar
Love Letters and Recipes: Women in Civil War Richmond
Clara Silverstein, Community Engagement Dir., Historic Newton (MA)
3-315PM: BREAK
Location: Schumann Conference Room and Veterans Hall West
Complimentary coffee, tea, and light snacks.
315-4PM: SHORT SESSIONS
10. ‘When I have More Perfectly Entered into their Secrets, You Shall Know All’
Location: Russell Scott Hall
James R. Adams, Senior Historian, National Museum of the American Indian
Moderator: Mathias Bergmann, Prof. of History, Randolph-Macon College
11. Disrespecting the Lost Cause: The Revival of the Ku Klux Klan and the White Supremacist Politics of Memorialization
Location: VMI Alumni Hall
Aaron Jacobs, Ph.D. Student in History, Brown University
Moderator: Evie Terrono, Prof. of Art History, Randolph-Macon College
4PM: Virginia Forum Board Meeting
Location: Schumann Conference Room
All are welcome to join this meeting with Virginia Forum Officers and Board members.
530-8PM: Evening Reception and Plenary Session
Location: Veterans Hall
Heavy hor d'oeuvres.
12. "Two Years of Reinvention" Plenary Session
Location: Veterans Hall
A roundtable discussion about how different leaders in the historic museums field have adjusted and reinvented their organizations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chair: Dr. Clay Mountcastle — Director, Virginia War Memorial
Howard Hoege III — President and CEO, The Mariners’ Museum
Robin Wilson von Seldeneck — President and CEO, The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum
Jennifer Hurst-Wender — Director of Museum Operations & Education, Preservation Virginia
Saturday, April 9th
830–10AM: SESSION IV
13. Unmasking 19th-Century Virginians
Location: Russell Scott Hall
Chair: Jennifer Hurst Wender, Dir. of Museum Operations and Education, Preservation Virginia
Unmasking Bushrod Washington’s Life
Elizabeth Brand Monroe, Assoc. Prof. of History, Indiana University-PUI
Daniel Dangerfield’s Freedom Story: Unmasking the Underground Railroad in Virginia
Deborah A. Lee, Independent Scholar
‘I have been subjected to repeated losses ever since...’: Pardons from Postwar Hanover County VA
Shawn McAvoy, Assoc. Prof. of History & Religious Studies, Patrick Henry CC
14. Virginia Community Studies
Location: Veterans Hall East
Chair: Meika Downey, Education Coordinator, Preservation Virginia
Community Development Model for Digital Community Archives
Nathan Hall, Dir. of Digital Imaging & Preservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Roads, Race, and Retail: Continuity and Change in Short Pump, Virginia
Will Tharp, Instructor, Brightpoint Community College
10–1015AM: BREAK
Location: Schumann Conference Room and Veterans Hall West
Complimentary coffee, tea, and light snacks.
1015–1145AM: SESSION V
15. A Discussion of Brent Tarter’s Virginians and Their Histories
Location: Veterans Hall East
Chair: Warren Hofstra, Prof. of History, Shenandoah University
John Kneebone, Prof. Emer. of History, Virginia Commonwealth University
Nadine Zimmerli, Editor, University of Virginia Press
Deborah Lee, Independent Scholar
Brent Tarter, Author
16. Virginia Legal History
Location: VMI Alumni Hall
Chair: Jon Kukla, Richmond, VA
An Unexpected Forum for Marginalized Voices: Petitions for Redress and Freedom Suits in Colonial Virginia
Jacqueline A. Delisle, Attorney, Brown, Brown, & Young
Lawyers as Historians: Three Early 19th Century Lawyers Collect and Preserve Virginia History
R. Neil Hening, Independent Scholar
James Madison, Slavery, and Federalist 54
Kevin Hardwick, Prof. of History, James Madison University
17. Desegregating Virginia
Location: Russell Scott Hall
Chair: Brian Daugherity, Assoc. Prof. of History, Virginia Commonwealth University
‘Island of Integration’: The Desegregation of the Women’s Army Corps at Fort Lee, Virginia, 1948–1954
Meika Downey, Education Coordinator, Preservation Virginia
‘Am I in Hell?’ – The 1960 Richmond Sit-In, and its Antecedents and Repercussions: The Unmasking of Jim Crow in the Former Confederate Capital
Raymond Hylton, Prof. of History, Virginia Union University, and
Kimberly A. Matthews, Assoc. Prof. of Interdisciplinary Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University
Pioneering Freedom Schools: Queens College Students’ Tutoring Service for African-American Children in Prince Edward County, Virginia, 1963
Miyuki Kita, Professor of International Relations, University of Kitakyushu, Japan
1145AM–130PM: LUNCH
Location: Veterans Art Gallery
Boxed lunches served in the Veterans Art Gallery.
12pm–130pm: Virginia Forum Planning Meeting
Location: Schumann Conference Room
Please join members of the Forum leadership for a discussion of this year’s Forum and future Forums—all are welcomed and encouraged to participate!
130–3PM: SESSION VI
18. Stories of Epidemics and Racial Injustice Found at the Library of Virginia
Location: Russell Scott Hall
Chair: John Deal, Editor, Dictionary of Virginia Biography
How Virginians Confronted Smallpox Epidemics
Gregory Crawford, Local Records Program Manager, Library of Virginia
Virginia Untold
Lydia Neuroth, Virginia Untold Project Manager, Library of Virginia
Newspaper Coverage of Pandemics
Errol Somay, Virginia Newspaper Project Director, Library of Virginia
19. Using Augmented Reality to Explore the History of Slavery at Virginia Tech
Location: Veterans Hall East
Chair: Todd Ogle, Exec. Dir. Immersive Environments & Simulations, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Technology, Transdisciplinary Teamwork, and Truth-Telling
Paul Quigley, Robertson Prof. of Civil War Studies, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Todd Ogle, Exec. Dir. Immersive Environments & Simulations, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Exploring Augmented Reality with Approaches that Humanize the Subjects: Commemorating Lives versus Giving Life
Kerri Moseley-Hobbs, Exec. Dir., More Than A Fraction Foundation
Campus History through Oral and Digital History
Jessica Taylor, Asst. Prof. of Public History, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Ren Harmon, Proj. Manager VT Stories, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Navigating the ‘Burden of Historical Representation’ within an Augmented Reality Exploration of Slavery at Virginia Tech
David Hicks, Prof. of Education, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
20. Northern Virginia is Just Different (Or Is It?): Past and Present
Location: VMI Alumni Hall
Chair: George D. Oberle III, Dir., Center for Mason Legacies, George Mason University
LaNitra Berger, Senior Director of Fellowships, George Mason University
Steven Harris-Scott, Asst. Prof. of Humanities and History, George Mason University
Sheri Ann Huerta, Adj. Prof. of History and Art History, George Mason University
2022 Hosting & Logistics Committee:
Dr. Clay Mountcastle, Committee Chair, Virginia War Memorial Foundation
Stephanie Saavedra, Virginia War Memorial Foundation
2022 Program Committee:
Dr. Mathias D. Bergmann, Committee Chair, Randolph-Macon College
Dr. Marvin T. Chiles, Old Dominion University
Dr. Madeleine Forrest Ramsey, Virginia Military Institute
Dir. Jennifer Hurst Wender, Preservation Virginia
Dr. Alphine W. Jefferson, Randolph-Macon College
Dr. Kenneth White, Highland Springs High School