A Plot-Driven People: Mennonite Narratives in the Age of Nationalism (1870-1945). The 2024 Bechtel Lecturer in Anabaptist Studies is Dr. John P. Eicher, Associate Professor of History at Pennsylvania State University-Altoona. Eicher's presentation focuses on two groups of German-speaking Mennonites from Russia—one composed of voluntary migrants and the other composed of refugees—who settled in Paraguay’s Gran Chaco during the interwar years of the twentieth century. It examines how members of Russia’s Mennonite diaspora created vastly different narratives about the past, present and future based on their interpretation of scripture and their contrasting experiences as migrants and refugees. At the broadest level, the presentation shows that Mennonites’ national and religious identifications are embedded in highly malleable collective stories. Reception to follow in the Upper Atrium (8:30 – 10:00 pm) Public Lecture. All are welcome. Conrad Grebel University College, 140 Westmount Rd. N, Waterloo. More information at: https://uwaterloo.ca/grebel/events/bechtel-lecture-john-p-eicher
