Critical Issues Forum Speaker Series

On behalf of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, I would like to invite you to the first Critical Issues Forum Speaker Series event of the 2026–2027 academic year!

We are so delighted to invite you to:

Learning from History: John Hersey’s Hiroshima

A Conversation with Historian and Educator Bruce Janu

Tuesday, Sept. 22 | 4:00 p.m. PT / 6:00 p.m. CT | Wednesday, Sept. 23, 8:00 a.m. JST | Online via Zoom

John Hersey’s Hiroshima, first published in The New Yorker in 1946, brought the experiences of six survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima to readers around the world and remains one of the most influential accounts of the human consequences of nuclear weapons.

Bruce Janu, Teacher Librarian & History Teacher at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois—the only U.S. school named for John Hersey—has a unique personal connection to Hersey and his legacy. The school opened in 1968, and Hersey himself attended its dedication and continued to visit the school over the years. Bruce first read Hiroshima as a freshman there and later heard Hersey speak at his own high school graduation. During the event, Bruce will share this personal history, discuss Hersey’s Hiroshima and its lasting significance, and take us inside the John Hersey Room at his school, where he will be presenting.

The Critical Issues Forum (CIF) is a disarmament and nonproliferation education program that brings together high school students and teachers from around the world to learn about nuclear weapons issues, including their humanitarian consequences, and to empower young people to engage with these critical global challenges.

This Speaker Series event is open to everyone, so please feel free to share this invitation with students, teachers, colleagues, friends, or anyone else who may be interested. The flyer is attached in both PDF and PNG formats for easy sharing, including on social media.

Please register here: https://middlebury.zoom.us/meeting/register/4ekLjkZdSiSJ1FmS1rAfiw

You can also register using the QR code or registration link on the attached flyer.

I hope you can join us!

Thank you so much!

Warm regards,

Masako