To commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the end of World War I Valencia College’s East Campus will host a series of six presentations about the Great War. We invite Valencia students, faculty, and staff to be part of this important and timely event beginning October 9 through November 13 every Tuesday from 1:00-2:15. The speakers will discuss diverse topics including World War I and its impact on the Middle East, the role of women, the culture of the Roaring Twenties, poetry, and the genre of the war film.

The Road to World War I, or How Pettiness and Jealously Led Squabbling Children into a Disaster in 1914

Carl Creasman, Professor of History

On June 28, 104 years ago, a sloppy assassination effort kicked off what became known as the Great War.  One month later, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and the bombs began falling on the capital Belgrade the following day.  While tragic, this regional interaction did not have to devolve into global conflict...and yet it did. When the shooting stopped with the Armistice on November 11, 1918, the world had been changed.  By the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, a disastrous course had been set for the world that would inexorably lead us into a nightmare of nearly continuous war, terrorism, a quest for elusive self-determination and a creation of what President Woodrow Wilson would call "a new world order."  Come spend an hour with East Campus Historian Carl E Creasman Jr as we investigate what events, people and choices set The Great War into motion in 1914.