S2E2 Ed Gitre - Virgnia Tech

Our guest today is Ed Gitre, an assistant professor of history at Virginia Tech University. He joined Virginia Tech as a Visiting Assistant in 2014 and went tenure track in 2017. Before joining Virginia Tech, he was an instructor at Seattle University and a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia. Ed received his BA at the University of Michigan, an MA in Theological Studies from Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri, an MA in History from the University of Manchester (UK), and a Ph.D. in History from Rutgers University. 

He is the director of the American Soldier in WWII Project, a crowd-sourcing project that has led to the transcription and digitization of thousands of pages of WWII soldiers’ commentaries on their war experiences. Under Ed’s direction, the project has received multiple grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Perhaps most impressively, the project has been made possible by the commitment of tens of thousands of volunteers from around the globe. The project has blown up on the internet and has been discussed in multiple publications, including Stripes and the Washington Post.

In addition to his work with the American Soldier in WWII Project, Ed is completing two book projects: “Breaking the Chain: World War II and the Battle over White Supremacy” & “The Lonely Crowd: David Riesman, Jr. and America’s Conformity.” He has presented and published his work widely, and it’s safe to say that Ed is changing our conceptions of history is done in the digital age.

Born and raised near Ft. Worth, Texas, Ed has a unique story and also has strong views on BBQ. Join us for a fascinating chat with Ed Gitre!

Rec. 04/07/2022