History Speaks series to explore visual culture of World War II Japanese internment

Naper Settlement's "History Speaks" series continues with "Visual Cultures of World War II Japanese Incarceration" on Sunday, April 11. This virtual lecture will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. on Zoom.

Only 100 spaces are available per lecture on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets are $10 per person.

Surely one of the darkest chapters in modern American history is the World War II-era Japanese Internment camps.

After the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, an intense and racist fear gripped this country. It was thought that anyone of Japanese descent, particularly on the West Coast, posed a threat to security as the U.S. entered World War II against Japan and the Axis powers.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's infamous Executive Order 9066 demanded that Japanese Americans, many U.S. citizens, surrender their property and relocate to remote western internment camps.

This narrated PowerPoint presentation first examines the historical background of this period - the government's role, the war era, and the plight of the victims. Then view examples of art, craft, and cultural production made in and about the experience.

Altogether, attendees will gain an enhanced understanding of this traumatic episode in our history - one that concerned America's treatment of immigrants in a time of global conflict - through objects that show great humanity and even creative heroism.

The lecture will be led by Mark Pohlad, PhD, associate professor of Art History at DePaul University in Chicago. He teaches courses on American art, modern art, the history of photography, and Abraham Lincoln.

This lecture is on Zoom, and pre-registration is required. Registrants will receive a Zoom invitation with information on how to access the virtual lecture prior to the event.

Sign up at napersettlement.org.