The '60s experience

As a history professor with a special interest in the Vietnam era, I have a project that might be of interest to Southeast Missourian readers.

I am researching and writing a book on the 1960s, as seen through the eyes of American children. For many Americans like myself who were born between 1956 and 1970, the "'60s experience" was a fundamental part of our childhood and remains central in our lives today.

I would like to hear stories from this generation about growing up in the United States during the 1960s in order to understand the meaning of the '60s from the perspective of preadolescent children. How did you experience the Vietnam era's powerful historical forces and popular culture between Kennedy's inauguration in 1961 and Nixon's resignation in 1974 in your life as a child? Ultimately, has your unique perspective on the '60s had any effect on you as an adult?

I've contacted nearly 300 newspapers in all 50 states with this letter to the editor as well as set up a Facebook page, "Children of the Sixties." I'm hoping to collect hundreds, if not thousands, of stories. So far I've received just over 600 responses from all over the nation. In the coming years I'll weave these recollections into a history of social change in the '60s and explore how historical events, such as Vietnam, affected preadolescents (children born between 1956 and 1970) based on their particular developmental age.

Please contact me at jrhodes@semo.edu.

JOEL P. RHODES, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of History, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau