April 16, 2009
L&S lecture series looks at American war
propaganda since 1898
Susan Brewer, professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens
Point (UWSP), will share her expertise on the history of American war
propaganda from 1989 to the present.
Brewer’s lecture, “Why America Fights: War Propaganda from 1989 to the
Present,” is the final installment in the College of Letters and Science
spring lecture series. Her lecture is free and open to the public at 7 p.m.
on Thursday, April 16, at the Portage County Public Library’s Pinery Room in
Stevens Point.
Brewer will explore the history of American war propaganda in six wars
beginning with the Philippines War to today’s Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“When Americans are called upon to fight, they want and deserve to know
what they are fighting for,” said Brewer. “While Americans deserve truthful
reasons for armed conflict, that is not necessarily historically how official
government propaganda appeals to Americans.”
Her lecture will include numerous examples of wartime propaganda from speeches,
posters, films and photographs. In 1997 her book, “To Win the Peace: British
Propaganda in the United States During World War II,” was published by Cornell
University Press.
In 1995 she was recognized with the Academy of Letters and Science Award for
Distinguished Service at UWSP. The following year she was named a Fellow at
the Institute for Research in the Humanities at UW-Madison.
Brewer holds a bachelor’s degree from Allegheny College, a master’s degree
from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a doctorate
from Cornell University.
