War Stories

There's more to Case Western Reserve University than medicine and engineering. There's also more to war than what is on the news. That's the case Peter Knox, director of the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities, wants to make with the Cleveland Humanities Festival April 1-10, which explores war's societal and cultural impacts. "We have the possibility to carry on conversations about subjects of important topical interest to the community from a perspective of the humanities," says Knox. We highlight two of the week's events.

Monuments men:  An April 2 Lolly the Trolley tour explores war memorial sites such as the Smoky and Dogs of All Wars Memorial in the Cleveland Metroparks Rocky River Reservation, which honors a Yorkshire terrier found in a jungle foxhole during World War II. "It was a surprise to me that there's a memorial to a dog," says Knox.

Culture shock:  In her April 5 talk, Pakistani novelist Kamila Shamsie discusses how war has cost the world important pieces of cultural heritage. "As someone from a part of the world that has experienced this kind of cultural devastation, it will be particularly evocative," says Knox.