Science, technology, and the siege of Atlanta in the Civil War meet in an upcoming lecture at University of Lynchburg.
Dr. Seymour E. Goodman, the Regents Professor of international affairs and computing at Georgia Tech, will present “Civil War Atlanta: The Long and Steep Descent” on Thursday, April 12, at 5:30 p.m. in Hopwood Auditorium. His talk is free and open to the public.
Dr. Goodman will speak about the role of science and technology in both the attack and defense of Atlanta in 1864.
“Dr. Goodman is a great example of a scholar trained in science and engineering who also maintains a deep interest in history and current events,” Lynchburg history professor Dr. Brian Crim said. “His scholarship blends these interests and I hope students will see how these disciplines inform one another.”
Dr. Crim, the John M. Turner Distinguished Chair in the Humanities, invited Dr. Goodman after hearing him speak about Union technological advantages at a conference on the military technology history in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Dr. Goodman has been a professor at Georgia Tech since 2000 and his work has been supported by more than two dozen funding sources, including multi-year grants from the National Science Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation.
“Many people in Virginia are interested in the Civil War and Dr. Goodman will certainly add a new perspective,” Dr. Crim said. “Atlanta in the Civil War is the subject of so many cultural representations that we probably lose sight of the true events on the ground.”