Pulitzer Prize-winning Historian to Lecture at Swansea University

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Pulitzer prize-winning historian Professor Alan Taylor, from the University of California at Davis, will be giving a free public lecture on Wednesday 9 May at Swansea University.

Hosted by the Callaghan Centre for the Study of Conflict, Power and Empire the hour- long lecture is titled, ‘The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies’.

In his lecture, Professor Taylor will consider how and why Britons and Americans renewed their struggle over the legacy of the American Revolution.

Professor Taylor is the author of six books that focus on topics such as early American history and the Civil War of 1812.

William Cooper’s Town won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for American history - in addition to the Bancroft and Beveridge prizes. American Colonies won the 2001 Gold Medal for Non-Fiction from the Commonwealth Club of California. The Divided Ground won the 2007 Society for Historians of the Early Republic book prize and the 2004-7 Society of the Cincinnati triennial book prize.

Since 1994, he has been a Professor at the University of California at Davis, where he teaches courses in early American history, the history of the American West, and the history of Canada.

Professor Taylor is also active in the California State Social Science and History Project. This project provides curriculum support for K-12 teachers in history and social studies. In 2002 Professor Taylor won the University of California at Davis Award for Teaching and Scholarly Achievement and the Phi Beta Kappa, Northern California Association, Teaching Excellence Award.

Dr David Anderson said: “We are delighted that such an esteemed historian as Professor Taylor will visit Swansea to showcase his impressive research on the War of 1812, a war that is just as often forgotten as it is misunderstood. His lecture moves beyond national histories to examine the lives of citizens and subjects, allies and rebels, ordinary men and women, and suggests new ways of understanding the story of North America, a story that redefined a continent.”

The lecture is sponsored by the Research Institute for Arts and Humanities (RIAH) which brings together academics, postgraduates and visiting national and international scholars to create a rich and vibrant research environment geared to international excellence and public engagement.

The lecture will take place in the Wallace Lecture Theatre, Wallace Building, Swansea University and will start promptly at 6pm. Light refreshments will be available from 5.15pm. Everyone is welcome and admission is free.

Please direct enquiries to: riah@swansea.ac.uk