Historian Richard Slotkin to lecture at Vassar College, October 24

Richard Slotkin, author of the award-winning trilogy "The Mythology of the American Frontier," will deliver the annual American Culture John Christie Lecture in the Sanders Auditorium at Vassar College, on Thursday, October 24, at 7:30 p.m.

His lecture, titled "Unit Pride: Nationality and Ethnicity in American War Films," is free and open to the public. The program is sponsored by the Program in American Culture. Slotkin's study of the importance of the American frontier in literature has affected scholars of Colonial and Western literature, detective fiction, and film.

Slotkin graduated from Brooklyn College in 1963, receiving his Ph. D. in American Civilization from Brown University in 1967. Having taught at Wesleyan University since 1966, Slotkin is currently the Olin Professor of American Studies. In 1969, he designed Wesleyan's American Studies Program, serving as its director from 1975 to 1995. In 1995 he received the Mary C. Turpie Award of the American Studies Association, for his contributions to teaching and program-building in American Studies.

Twice a finalist for the National Book Award, Slotkin is best known for the trilogy of scholarly books detailing the myth of the frontier in American cultural history. The first book in the series,"Regeneration Through Violence: The Mythology of the American Frontier, 1600-1860″ (1973), was awarded the 1973 Albert J. Beveridge Award by the American Historical Association who cited it as "a turning point in the study of American intellectual history."

The second volume, "The Fatal Environment: The Myth of the Frontier in the Age of Industrialization, 1800-1890″ (1985) received the literary award of the Little Big Horn Associates. The final volume of the trilogy, "Gunfighter Nation: The Myth of the Frontier in Twentieth Century America" (1992) was a finalist for the 1993 National Book Award.

Slotkin has also published articles and reviews extensively in major journals has written three historical novels, including the first fictional work to be adopted by the History Book Club: "The Crater" (1980).

Slotkin has won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Rockefeller Foundation. In 1986 he was elected to be a Fellow of the Society of American Historians. Often, he serves as a consultant and on-screen interviewee for media and documentary film projects on violence, popular culture, and Western America.

For additional information, contact the Program in American Culture at (845) 437-7485. Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Cathy Jennings, Office of Campus Activities, (845) 437-5370, as far in advance as possible to request appropriate and reasonable accommodations for the event.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations or information on accessibility should contact Campus Activities Office at (845) 437-5370. Without sufficient notice, appropriate space and/or assistance may not be available.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.

This article was posted on Thursday, October 24th, 2002.