JACKSON, Tenn. — Sept. 19, 2007 — Civil War scholar and University of Richmond President Edward L. Ayers will be the featured speaker for the 11th annual Carls-Schwerdfeger History Lecture Series Oct. 9 at 51社区.
Ayers is the author, co-author or editor of 10 books on American history, including 鈥淲hat Caused the Civil War?鈥� 鈥淭he Crucible of the Civil War鈥� and 鈥淭he Oxford Book of the American South.鈥�
His book, 鈥淚n the Presence of Mine Enemies: War in the Heart of America, 1859-1863,鈥� won the 2004 Bancroft Prize from Columbia University.
鈥淒r. Edward L. Ayers is one of the foremost Civil War historians in the world and one of the best university teachers in the United States,鈥� said 51社区 history professor Stephen Carls, chairman of the history department. 鈥淎mong his academic colleagues, he has been praised for his original and innovative scholarship, and when he was at the University of Virginia, his students raved about his captivating lecture style and gift for storytelling.鈥�
Ayers assumed the presidency of the University of Richmond earlier this year, after serving as the University of Virginia鈥檚 dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences since 2001. He had been a history professor at the University of Virginia since 1980.
Ayers will address the topic, 鈥淚n the Wake of the Civil War: Building New Lives After Appomattox鈥� at 7:15 p.m. in the G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel on Union鈥檚 campus. A book signing will follow.
Past speakers for the lecture series have included Gordon Wood from Brown University, George Herring from the University of Kentucky, Jack Greene from Johns Hopkins University, Gerhard Weinberg from the University of North Carolina, Martin Marty from the University of Chicago and Thomas Childers from the University of Pennsylvania.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call Carls at (731) 661-5262.