Lecture to explore Civil War Era themes

LAWRENCE — Lawrence has strong historical ties to the abolitionist movement and during the Civil War was home to leaders with a strong conviction that Kansas should become and remain a free state.

The community will have an opportunity to explore abolitionism and the Civil War during an upcoming lecture focusing on Frederick Douglass, one of the movement’s leading intellectuals, politicians and orators. Presented as this year’s Bill Tuttle Distinguished Lecture in American Studies is “‘My Pen, My Voice, My Vote’: Frederick Douglass in the Age of the Civil War.”

David Blight, professor of American history and director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University, will present the lecture. Blight is one of the nation’s foremost authorities on the American Civil War and has authored several award-winning titles on the subject.  

“Professor Blight is one of the nation’s pre-eminent Civil War Era historians, and his work continues to influence academic dialogue on this historical event and its ramifications,” said Bill Tuttle, professor emeritus in the Department of American Studies. “This lecture is an incredible opportunity to hear his newest insights.”

The event will take place at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, in Woodruff Auditorium of the Kansas Union and is free and open to the public.

The Department of American Studies and friends and family of Bill Tuttle established the annual Tuttle Lecture in 2008 to honor him for his 40 years of academic excellence in research and teaching, as well as his service to the university, the Lawrence community and the nation. The Tuttle Lecture focuses on Tuttle’s primary teaching, research and civic concerns: African-American history and culture and recent American society and politics. The Tuttle Lecture provides an open forum for distinguished lecturers to talk frankly about American culture and society, speaking truth to power.

The 2014 Tuttle Lecture is made possible by the support of the departments of African & African-American Studies, American Studies, English, History and Sociology as well as the Hall Center for the Humanities, Office of Multicultural Affairs, Office of the Provost and Student Athlete Support Services.

Five of the presenting and sponsoring units are part of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, which encourages learning without boundaries in its more than 50 departments, programs and centers. Through innovative research and teaching, the College emphasizes interdisciplinary education, global awareness and experiential learning. The College is KU's broadest, most diverse academic unit.