Dr. Brown will discuss how Pennsylvania Dutch soldiers perceived of the Civil War and the issues at stake for the nation. Thirty-one Civil War regiments in the Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry had a strong Pennsylvania Dutch majority, though they were often integrated into larger units with the “English.” As rural farmers, perhaps they felt more inclined to protect their own property and way of life over a unified notion of a “Union,” but they were not wholly apolitical and not uninterested in national issues. He will show the multilingual realities of the Pennsylvania Dutch during the nineteenth century and how that multilingualism complicates the story of the Pennsylvania Dutch.

Dr. Brown, born and raised in Pennsylvania, has his PhD from Penn State University, and is a sociolinguist and linguistic anthropologist interested primarily in heritage languages and the interaction of language and identity at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire.

Program admission is free. Bring your own take-out or register by November 15 for baked ziti and salad for $15.