Wednesday, September 18 • 1:30 p.m. • FREE
Cunningham Memorial Library, Event Center
In the 1960s and 1970s, over 50,000 Americans fled across the border to Canada to resist military service during the Vietnam War. Unguarded Border: American Emigres in Canada During the Vietnam War, the latest book by ISU History Professor, Dr. Donald Maxwell, explores how these Americans in exile forged cosmopolitan identities, coming to regard themselves as global citizens, a status complicated by the Canadian government’s attempts to claim them and the U.S. government’s eventual efforts to reclaim them. Unguarded Border offers a new perspective on a movement that permanently changed perceptions of compulsory military service, migration, and national identity.
Dr. Donald Maxwell is an assistant professor in the Department of History at Indiana State University, where he has taught courses in U.S. and world history since 2011. He has a Ph.D. in history and master’s degrees in history and library science from Indiana University, and he earned an undergraduate degree from Butler University. His 2023 book Unguarded Border: American Émigrés in Canada during the Vietnam War is the result of his fascination with borders.
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Indiana State University is a membership-based forum for adults of all academic backgrounds to learn about a wide variety of interesting and engaging topics. OLLI at Indiana State is made possible by the substantial support of the Bernard Osher Foundation and Indiana State University. Learn more and become a member at Indstate.edu/community-engagement/olli.