Cornell professor to discuss how fugitives destroyed the slaveholders' republic
The George M. Blackburn Endowed Lecture on the Civil War and Reconstruction will focus on how fugitives destroyed the slaveholders’ republic during the Civil War.
Edward E. Baptist is a history professor at Cornell University who studies the African American movement in the U.S. He will present at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4 in the Sarah and Daniel Opperman Auditorium in Charles V. Park Library.
“It’s a talk that's focusing in on the Civil War years, which I think are really important, because historians trace modern America back to the Civil War,” history faculty member Michelle Cassidy said.
Cassidy said the talk will focus on resistance to slavery, and how slaves themselves played a crucial role in the destruction of slaveholder society and politics.
Baptist will talk about the Civil War years and his current research. He focuses on the long history of surveillance and control of African American movement in the U.S. His research also looks at African American resistance to various forms of regulation and control.
These research topics consider the roots of controversial topics today like policing, mass incarceration, and movements like #BlackLivesMatter.
“His larger project is trying to talk about this really long history of surveillance and regulations of African American movements,” said Cassidy. She said Baptist's lecture is important because it connects past events with the current issues of today.
A reception will follow in the Terrace Room of the Bovee University Center.
This lecture series is sponsored by the department of history.
