Richard Sidney Slotkin (born November 8, 1942)[1] is a cultural critic and historian. He is the Olin Professor of English and American Studies, Emeritus at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and, since 2010, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[2][3] Slotkin writes novels, predominantly historical ones, alongside his historical research, and uses the process of writing the novels to clarify and refine his historical work.[4]
Richard Slotkin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Sidney Slotkin November 8, 1942 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Cultural critic, historian, novelist |
| Academic background | |
| Education |
|
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | Wesleyan University |
Education and career
editRichard Sidney Slotkin was born on November 8, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York. He received a B.A. degree from Brooklyn College in 1963 and a Ph.D. in American Civilization from Brown University in 1967.[3][5]
He started teaching at Wesleyan University in 1966 and helped establish the school's American studies and film studies program.[6] He remained at Wesleyan until his retirement in 2009.[5]
Awards
editRegeneration Through Violence received the Albert J. Beveridge Award of the American Historical Association as the Best Book in American History (1973) and was a Finalist for the National Book Award in 1974.[7][8] Gunfighter Nation was a National Book Award Finalist in 1993.[9] In 1995, Slotkin received the Mary C. Turpie Award of the American Studies Association for his contributions to teaching and program-building.[10] His novel Abe: A Novel of the Young Lincoln won the 2000 Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction.[11]
In 1976, he received an honorary Master of Arts degree in Art Education from Wesleyan University.[5]
His 2024 book, A Great Disorder: National Myth and the Battle for America, was longlisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction.[12]
Works
edit- Regeneration Through Violence: the Mythology of the American Frontier, 1600–1860 (Wesleyan University Press, 1973)
- The Crater: A Novel of the Civil War (Atheneum, 1980)
- Fatal Environment: The Myth of the Frontier in the Age of Industrialization, 1800–1890, (Atheneum, 1985)
- The Return of Henry Starr (Atheneum, 1988)
- Gunfighter Nation: Myth of the Frontier in Twentieth-Century America (Atheneum, 1992)
- Abe: A Novel of the Young Lincoln (Henry Holt and Company, 2000)
- Lost Battalions: The Great War and the Crisis of American Nationality (Henry Holt and Company, 2005)
- No Quarter: The Battle of the Crater, 1864 (Random House, 2009)
- The Long Road to Antietam: How the Civil War Became a Revolution (W. W. Norton & Company, 2012)[13]
- Greenhorns: Stories (Leapfrog Press, 2018)
- A Great Disorder: National Myth and the Battle for America (Belknap Press, 2024)
References
edit- ^ "Slotkin, Richard 1942– | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
- ^ "Academy Member Connection". www.amacad.org.
- ^ a b "Richard S. Slotkin - Faculty, Wesleyan University". www.wesleyan.edu. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
- ^ Slotkin, Richard (June–September 2005). "Fiction for the Purposes of History". Rethinking History. 9 (2/3): 221–236. doi:10.1080/13642520500149152. S2CID 145764187.
- ^ a b c "Slotkin, Richard, 1942- | Archives at Yale". archives.yale.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
- ^ "Richard Slotkin | Guests | BillMoyers.com". BillMoyers.com. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
- ^ "Albert J. Beveridge Award Recipients | AHA". American Historical Association. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
- ^ "Regeneration Through Violence". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
- ^ "Gunfighter Nation: The Myth of the Frontier in Twentieth-Century America". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
- ^ Press, Berkeley Electronic. "SelectedWorks - Richard Slotkin". works.bepress.com.
- ^ "The Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction". Louisiana State University. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
- ^ "The 2024 National Book Awards Longlist". The New Yorker. 12 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ Swansburg, John (2012-08-04). "The Civil War's Most Chicken General". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
External links
edit- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Richard Slotkin Papers. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.