[260] ‘MTSU On the Record’ examines ‘war of words’ in War Between the States

MURFREESBORO — The next edition of ‘MTSU On the Record’ will consider whether the pen was mightier than the sword in the aftermath of the Civil War.

Host Gina Logue’s interview with Alan Boehm, a professor of collection development and management at the James E. Walker Library, will be the first show for the program’s new weekday and time slot, from 9:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays. The upcoming show will air Tuesday, Jan. 23, and will re-air in its regular weekend slot from 6 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 29, on WMOT-FM Roots Radio 89.5 and www.wmot.org.

Boehm, who is in charge of the library’s special collections unit, will discuss its most recent exhibit, “Printing the Civil War: Representation and Commemoration During and After the Conflict.”

“We have a lot of what are loosely called regimental histories,” said Boehm. “We have books written in the effort to explain the causes of the Civil War. We have a number of books that are biographical in nature recounting both the generals’ and upper echelon officers’ experience … as well as the foot soldiers’ experience.”

To enhance viewers’ appreciation of the display, Derek Frisby, a lecturer in the Department of Global Studies and Cultural Geography and military historian, will lead an informal talk at 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, in the library’s fourth floor special collections area.

“The American Civil War witnessed numerous innovations and technologies to the battlefield,” said Frisby. “Yet, it was perhaps one of the older weapons in the Union arsenal that secured their victory — the printing press.”

Frisby will entertain questions. His talk is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be available beginning at 2:30 p.m.

A printable campus parking map is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap. Off-campus visitors attending the daytime event should obtain a special one-day permit from MTSU’s Office of Parking and Transportation at http://www.mtsu.edu/parking/visit.php.

To hear previous “MTSU On the Record” programs, go to http://bit.ly/mtsu-otr.

For more information, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.