Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on the Significance of Race

Join Wilkinson College for a Conversation with Dr. Ty Seidule

Moderators:
Dr. Jennifer D. Keene, Dean, Wilkinson College
Justin Riley, Associate Director, Student Community Support and Development, Chapman University

Meet our Guest:
Dr. Ty Seidule grew up revering Robert E. Lee. From his southern childhood to his service in the U.S. Army, every part of his life reinforced the Lost Cause myth: that Lee was the greatest man who ever lived, and that the Confederates were underdogs who lost the Civil War with honor. Now, his view has radically changed. In his new book, Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause, Seidule explores how and why his views changed, and the honest reckoning with history that must occur. 

Seidule is the Chamberlain Fellow at Hamilton College, a New America Fellow, and was recently named to the Confederate Base Naming Commission. In 2015, his five-minute video lecture, “Was the Civil War About Slavery?” became a social media sensation with more than 30 million views. He served in the U.S. Army for thirty-six years, retiring as a brigadier general in 2020, after teaching at West Point for two decades.