David Roediger wins the 2015 Byron Caldwell Smith Book Award for Seizing Freedom
David Roediger, Foundation Distinguished Professor of American Studies/History at the University of Kansas received the 2015 Byron Caldwell Smith Book Award for his radical new history of Emancipation, Seizing Freedom: Slave Emancipation and Liberty for All.
From the Hall Center for Humanities:
For more on David Roediger and Seizing Freedom:
"Douglass knew that slaves could be counted on to show up as opportunities for freedom arose": read an excerpt from Seizing Freedom here.
Read David Roediger's contribution to the Verso Blog, "Michael Brown and Eric Garner Together: What the Defenders of Police Violence Defend," here.
For more on David Roediger, click here.
From the Hall Center for Humanities:
Roediger will receive his award and deliver a public talk at the University of Kansas's Hall Center for Humanities on Thursday, September 10. The event is free and open to the public and a reception and book signing will take place.
Roediger's radical new history redefines the idea of freedom after the jubilee, using fresh sources and texts to build on the leading historical accounts of Emancipation and Reconstruction. Reinstating ex-slaves' own "freedom dreams" in constructing these histories, Roediger creates a masterful account of the emancipation and its ramifications on a whole host of day-to-day concerns for Whites and Blacks alike, such as property relations, gender roles, and labor. Committee members recognized the importance of Seizing Freedom, considering it a "work of superb scholarship, and a significant contribution to the humanities writ large."
For more on David Roediger and Seizing Freedom:
"Douglass knew that slaves could be counted on to show up as opportunities for freedom arose": read an excerpt from Seizing Freedom here.
Read David Roediger's contribution to the Verso Blog, "Michael Brown and Eric Garner Together: What the Defenders of Police Violence Defend," here.
For more on David Roediger, click here.
