UNCA Course Explores the Human Dimensions of Second World War; First in a Series of Courses Planned for Kellogg Center

Historian Ted Uldricks, director of UNC Asheville's Master of Liberal Arts Program, will teach an undergraduate course on Experiencing the Second World War beginning March 21 at the Kellogg Center. Uldricks, an internationally known scholar, has developed a course that combines social history and military history, with a special focus on people rather than battle dates. Classes will meet 6 to 8:50 p.m. Thursdays through May 16.

"This is a comprehensive survey of the Second World War. We'll look at its military, political, diplomatic and socioeconomic aspects, as well as taking a geographic approach in exploring the war's Western and Eastern fronts, the African and Pacific theaters and China. The special theme of the course is the impact of war on ordinary people -- soldiers, defense plant workers, women who went to work, refugees, prisoners of war," Uldricks said.

Students may take the course for two hours of undergraduate history credit or audit. This is the first time a UNCA course has been offered in Hendersonville.

"Experiencing the Second World War is designed to be interesting and useful to a broad spectrum of people -- older folks who have lived through World War II and young people who've head of it and seen some of the movies. The Second World War is the central event of the 20th Century and continues to shape what the world is like, even now. The rise of Islamic fundamentalism and the fragmentation of the Middle East is one of the outcomes of the Second World War. Prior to the war, the French and English empires, and earlier the Turkish empire, controlled that part of the world," he said.

UNCA hopes to offer additional courses at Kellogg Center in the future. "This is our trial balloon," Uldricks said. "UNCA's Philosophy Department's lecture and discussion series is in its fourth very successful year at Kellogg. We want to gauge the interest in an onsite classes in the Hendersonville area."

Uldricks, who holds a Ph.D. in Russian History from Indiana University, has been the director of the MLA program since its inception. He is currently working on a book which is a broad, interpretative history of World War II that explores the reasons for and significance of the war. He is also the author of several books on Russian history and most recently published a series of journal articles on the inception of the war between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia.

Tuition and fees for the course is $108.02. Adults over the age of 65 may apply for a tuition waiver, making course fees only $27.20.

For more information or to register for the class, call UNCA's Special Academic Program at 828/250-3833.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Elaine Fox, UNCA Special Academic Programs Director, 828/232-5122
• Dr. Ted Uldricks, UNCA Master of Liberal Arts Program Director, 828/251-6620
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526