GWS Faculty Member Judy Giesberg Distinguished Lecture Series

GWS faculty member Judy Giesberg will be heading the 2014 Steven and Janice Brose Distinguished Lecture Series entitled “Know(ing) It When You See It: Pornography and Sexual Culture in the Civil War North” November 6^th-8^th at Penn State University.

The series is described as: “From 1842 to 1873, American lawmakers passed a series of measures intended to protect youth from the ill effects of pornography, initially in response to similar measures being taken in France and Great Britain.  But the unique circumstances of the U.S. Civil War determined that Americans would have a different experience with pornography and anti-pornography than their European counterparts. With easy and expanding access to photographic technologies, accelerated delivery of the mails, and new customs laws that restricted the importation of obscene materials, the U.S. Civil War made possible the triumph of a thriving trade in domestic pornography—and let loose a spirited morality campaign to stamp it out, culminating in the passing of Comstock Laws.  This lecture series will explore the trade in pornography that came into its own in the Civil War era and the strong reaction it elicited.”

The list of talks is:

·         Thursday, November 6 at 7 pm, NLI Boardroom: “Lewd, Wicked, Scandalous:” American Pornography Comes of Age

·         Friday, November 7 at 7 pm, NLI Assembly Room: “Storming the Enemy’s Entrenchments:” Civil War Courts Martial and the Sexual Culture of the U.S. Army Camp

·         Saturday, November 8 at 4 pm, NLI Boardroom: “Time to Kill:” Anthony Comstock and the Obscenity of War

***Admission is free and open to the public***

The GWS Department congratulates Professor Giesberg on this amazing honor!