Remembering history is very important. As citizens, students must be aware of how the United States has gotten to be where it is.

At 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 31, the Harry and Berniece Gockel International Symposium will visit Missouri Southern. The program will be held in Taylor Performing Arts Center. This program will be a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of World War I. World War I is a conflict which 16 million lives were lost, and it has shaped the world today.

“We felt that the Gockel Symposium was beginning to become lost, somewhat, in all of the programming for the themed semesters,” said Dr. Chad Stebbins, director of the Institute of International Studies. “By moving it to the spring, it will become more of a stand-alone event that should distinguish it further.”

Dr. Christopher Capozzola, an associate professor of history at Massachusetts Institute of Technology will speak on American responses during World War I. Capozzola was a featured speaker during the Jeans Lecture Series in April 2013.

“Two years ago I invited Dr. Capozzola to Missouri Southern to deliver the annual Jeans Lecture in History,” said Dr. Steven Wagner, professor of history at Southern. “His presentation was very well received, so when Dr. Stebbins mentioned that he was considering a World War I theme for this year’s Gockel, I suggested we invite him back,” Wagner added.

The symposium is open to students, faculty/staff and the community. Several professors assign the symposium to their students.