Center for the Study of War Experience
Who We Are

The Center for the Study of War Experience is primarily committed to providing a space for individuals to share their stories of war. Since its founding in 2004, the Center has been dedicated to gathering and preserving a wide range of voices and to fostering dialogue and reflection regarding the nuances and complexities of war experience. With the multiplicity of individual narratives from differing perspectives, the Center contributes to a broader analysis and understanding of the political, social, economic and cultural costs of war.
Anchored in Jesuit values, the Center is committed to the theories and practices of oral history and its potential to be a transformative process for the interviewee, interviewer and those who listen to and engage with the individual narratives. With this cornerstone, the Center offers students, researchers and members of the public the opportunity to listen deeply and reflect upon the experiences of others–particularly those who have been underrepresented or marginalized–and therefore collectively bear witness to war and how it affects lives in a multitude of ways.
While the Center’s oral history program began in the 1990s with an urgent focus on recording the stories of aging World War II veterans, we have since expanded the scope of our collection, undergraduate courses and public programming to include civilians, anti-war protestors, refugees and those employed in wartime labor. Most recently, the Center has focused on the experiences of women, Hispanic Vietnam War veterans and African American experiences of war. We are also initiating a new two-year thematic approach to programming with a focus on war from the lens of refugee experiences and cross-campus collaboration.
2023 Stories from Wartime
Stories from Wartime, facilitated by the Center for the Study of War Experience Faculty Director and staff, is a “Search for Meaning” Integrative Core Seminar at Regis University. The undergraduate course is a multidisciplinary inquiry into the human experience of war and conflict. As students hear, read and see these stories from wartime, we ask what it means to bear witness to historic and modern warfare; how we bear witness to this history collectively and where and how one finds meaning through such witness.
For 28 years, Stories from Wartime has featured nationally known speakers, guest lectures and local perspectives. Community members are invited to attend select classes of the seminar throughout the semester. This year’s series is focused on the history and perspectives of the Vietnam War. The sessions are free and open to the public and may be attended in person or virtually.
Dates:
- Sept. 27 - In Camps: The Journeys of Vietnamese Refugees with Historian Jana Lipman - On Zoom
- Oct. 4 - Local Perspectives: Vietnamese Refugees in Denver - On Zoom
- Oct. 18 - Keynote Speaker: "To be gorgeous, you must first be seen...": Refugee Stories with Author Ocean Vuong* (More information below)
- Oct. 25 - Resisting War: The Anti-Vietnam War Movement - On Zoom
- Nov. 1 - Living with the Legacy of War: Conversations with Vietnam Veterans - On Zoom
- Nov. 8 - Gendered Experiences: American Women in the Vietnam War
- Nov. 29 - From Vietnam to the Wars on Terror: A Conversation with Veterans of America’s Longest Wars - On Zoom
Location: St. Peter Claver, S.J., Hall 315 OR on Zoom as noted
*St. John Francis Regis Chapel
Time: 6-8 p.m.
Registration: Register for each session on Eventbrite
Livestream: If you cannot attend the sessions on campus, we are live-streaming the sessions. Here is the link to the livestream.
Parking: Lower Lot 4
Due to its popularity and rich range of guest speakers and topics, Stories from Wartime has been videotaped since the late 1990s. If you are interested in viewing the recorded sessions, please contact us at cswe@regis.edu.
Oral History and Archival Collection
With over 900 hours of recorded interviews and an extensive archive of artifacts, documents, and photos from the interviewees, the Center provides ample opportunities for students and researchers to engage with primary sources. The multiple and nuanced narratives allow students to explore how stories of conflict are told, how individual and collective memories influence and shape those narratives, how war experiences are translated to the public, and how they inform larger conversations about war in society.
Many of our interviews can be accessed in this digital repository hosted by the Regis University Library.
Explore the Collection