Lecture Free and Open to the Public Wednesday, Nov. 14

(COLUMBIA, Tenn. - Oct. 22, 2012) - - - Across history, children have been not only victims of wars but have both voluntarily and involuntarily been active participants. Children and war is the subject of the Lyceum Committee lecture at Columbia State Community College on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. in room 120 of the Waymon L. Hickman building.

The lecture, hosted by professors Jan de le Mer, Victoria Gay and Thomas Hallquist, will explore the social and societal implications, as well as the historical context of what happens to children who, for whatever reason and in whatever context, find themselves in harm's way.

"In the 1960s it was said that 'war is not safe for children and other living things,'" mused de la Mer. "Our panel will take a look at three very different circumstances in which children have confronted war."

The boys recruited in the 18^th and 19^th centuries to the British Royal Navy is the topic for Professor de la Mer. "Much has been written about Horatio Nelson at Trafalgar, but little has been analyzed about the young boys who crewed his ships."

The experiences of children during World War II forms the discussion for Professor Gay, who will examine life in the ghettos and camps of children forced by the Nazis to live there, the lives of Hitler Youth as contrasted with the lives of American children in that same timeframe. Gay will also take a look at the children whose families and communities chose to shelter Jewish families and other sought by the Nazis.

In modern times, child soldiers have been forcibly recruited for roles in combat, as spies and as human shields in Africa. Professor Hallquist will examine children threatened, brainwashed, drugged and then sent to front lines of battle with a new generation of 'lost boys' that are being born.

The lecture is free and open to the public. The Hickman building is on the main campus, located at 1665 Hampshire Pike.