The African Studies Association (ASA) will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its first annual meeting in historic Chicago, IL. As part of the larger program, the event will feature scholars, artists, and community activists from the Chicago area who will facilitate panels, workshops, and discussions tailored especially to educators.

Tim Mulligan, retired from National Archives and currently teaching at the University of Maryland, will speak on the Christmas Truce of 1914. The truce was not one ordered from above, rather the French, German, and Scottish troops in the trenches began singing carols, which lead to a meeting in "no man's land" (the area between trenches) and exchanging of gifts. The presentation will include a showing of the film Joyeux Noel 2005 about the same topic. Mulligan often uses this film in his course "History through Hollywood."

Dr. John Barrett of St. Johns University of Law (one of the foremost Nuremberg Trials historian in the United States) will give the background and importance of the Nuremberg Trials. John Q. Barrett is a Professor of Law at St. Johns University School of Law in New York City, where he teaches constitutional law, criminal procedure, and legal history. Professor Barrett currently is working on a biography of Justice Jackson that will include the first inside account of his year (1945–46) away from the Supreme Court as the chief American prosecutor of the principal surviving Nazi leaders at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany. He will be followed by three veterans of the First Division who were guards or military police during the trials who will share their experiences.

Presentations at this symposium include "The Emancipation Proclamation as a War Measure," "Current Lincoln Scholarship," "Lincoln Records in the National Archives," "Lincoln and the Copperhead Movement in Illinois," and living history reenactors throughout the day.

Clark Welch and other veterans will share their experiences from the Battle of Ong Thanh. October 17th marks the 41st anniversary of the action. A movie based on Pulitzer Prize winner David Maraniss's book They Marched Into the Sunlight, which tells the story of the battle, is currently in production.

In the second volume of his epic trilogy about the liberation of Europe in World War II, Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Atkinson tells the harrowing story of the campaigns in Sicily and Italy. Attendees at this event join author Rick Atkinson as he discusses his new book in the Liberation Trilogy, The Day of Battle. A book signing will follow.

Marjorie Agosin, recipient of the United Nations Leadership Award for Human Rights was raised in Santiago, Chile until the 1973 coup. She is the author of poetry and prose about human rights, memory, and Jewish identity. Her work exemplifies the power of language to effect change and give voice.

A hundred years ago, in communities across the U.S., white residents forced thousands of black families to flee their homes. Even a century later, these towns remain almost entirely white. Banished tells the story of three of these communities and their black descendants, who return to learn their shocking histories. This event presents a screening of the film, followed by a conversation with director Marco Williams. Williams, a member of the faculty at NYU, is a documentary and fiction film director. His films have been broadcast on cable and public television, including Showtime and Frontline, and have been screened at film festivals throughout the world.

This workshop will explore the history of immigration, race, and citizenship in the United States through the use of Facing History and Ourselves's resources and pedagogical framework. What does it mean to become an American? How have immigrants fought for rights and claimed ownership of their own American identities? The workshop will focus on specific events in U.S. and world history that shaped U.S. immigration policies and affected the lives of immigrants.