The 20th annual Brian Bertoti Innovative Perspectives in History Graduate Conference — held March 18–19 at the University Club and the Graduate Life Center — featured 23 presentations by students from 11 U.S. institutions, including Virginia Tech.

Presenting papers were the following master’s students in History: Mason Ailstock, “Making Their Mark: World War I Memorial and Commemoration Formation by Veterans in Johnson City, TN, 1918–1999”; Kevin Caprice, “No True Veteran . . .: Constructing a Hierarchy within Union Veteranhood”; Earl Cherry, Jr., “Training Virginians: Rural Training Schools of Virginia’s Segregated Education System, 1895–1955”; Grace Hemmingson, “The Battle in Richmond: Catawba Sanatorium and Virginia’s ‘War on Tuberculosis’”; Chris Keller, “Bluegrass by Flatt and Scruggs: Sophisticated and Nostalgic”; Jonathan MacDonald, “Reel Guidance: Midcentury Classroom Films and Adolescent Adjustment”; Jenny Nehrt, “The Opportunity in Disaster: Securing White Supremacy in Memphis during the 1878 Yellow Fever Epidemic”; Daniel Newcomb, “‘Living in a New World’: World War One and the Decline of Military Tradition at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 1916–1923”; and Rebecca Williams, “‘Weird Old Figures and a New Twist’: Cultural Functions of Halloween at the Turn of the 20th Century.”

Department of History graduate students organized the conference and faculty members served as discussants.