REBUILDING THEIR LIVES AFTER THE GREAT WAR
Evan P. Sullivan
4 p.m. Thursday, October 17, 2024
University at Albany
Standish Room, Science Library (3rd Floor)
1400 Washington Avenue Albany NY 12222 - See map.
Evan P. Sullivan's forthcoming book Constructing Disability after the Great War investigates the rich lives of blind soldiers and veterans and their families to reveal how they confronted barriers, gained an education, earned a living, and managed their self-image while continually exposed to the public’s scrutiny of their success and failures. It offers an exploration of how Americans -- both civilians and veterans -- worked to determine the meanings of identity for blind veterans of World War I.
Sullivan's talk will draws on research from his book to highlight the experiences of a select group of blind veterans and what those veterans can tell us about the broader culture of American rehabilitation after World War I.
Review
“It’s the fate of American veterans who leave military service with disabilities to be seen continuously over historical time by the able-bodied public at the juncture of tragedy, inspiration, and aversion. But myths, stereotypes, and fantasies about these veterans seldom speak to the reality of their lives or their injuries.
As Evan P. Sullivan makes clear with skill and intensity in this deeply realized study of the lives of World War I blind soldiers and blind veterans, such projections tell us a great deal more about society, culture, and politics than they do about veterans with disabilities rebuilding their lives after the Great War.”
-- David A. Gerber, editor of Disabled Veterans in History