VIDEO: Lauded race and class historian becomes KU Foundation Professor
March 27, 2015
David Roediger named first Foundation Professor
January 10, 2014
LAWRENCE – Last September, the University of Kansas welcomed David Roediger, the Kendrick C. Babcock Professor of History at the University of Illinois and an internationally recognized historian, as keynote speaker for the 60th anniversary of the Department of American Studies. Next academic year, KU will welcome Roediger to a more prominent role as its first Foundation Distinguished Professor in American Studies and History.“Foundation Professor hires are integral to the success of Bold Aspirations, our strategic plan,” said Jeffrey S. Vitter, provost and executive vice chancellor.
“Our Foundation Professor recruitment efforts target truly exceptional researchers recognized as leaders in their field. Professor Roediger is an exemplary initial hire, a scholar who has shaped and often reshaped the field of labor history and racial history over the course of his career. This is a strong precedent to attract future scholars to KU.”
KU’s Foundation Professor initiative is a unique partnership between the university and the state of Kansas to attract such eminent faculty members to support one of the university’s four strategic initiative themes. Roediger is the first of 12 eminent scholars who will join KU. In his role as Foundation Distinguished Professor, Roediger will play a leadership role in advancing KU’s strategic initiative theme, Building Communities, Expanding Opportunities.
Roediger’s scholarship and teaching, which focus on race, ethnicity, labor, and the 19th and 20th centuries, have made him a well-known figure in the humanities and social sciences. In particular, his groundbreaking work on the study of race has been widely credited with transforming the field of study. His book “The Wages of Whiteness: Race and the Making of the American Working Class” was awarded the 1992 Merle Curti Prize for the Best Social History Book from the Organization of American Historians.
“I’ve been coming to KU as a visitor for many years and am happy to be joining two of its strongest departments,” Roediger said. “I am excited to be a part of KU’s commitment to build new interdisciplinary partnerships on campus. American Studies and History are programs with strengths that closely align with my research passions, and I am anxious to be in Lawrence and begin working with new students and colleagues.”“
Professor Roediger’s commitment to multidisciplinary research and teaching make him an ideal addition to KU and to our outstanding departments of American Studies and History,” said Danny Anderson, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “His record of leadership extends beyond being highly regarded in his field to his work with undergraduate and graduate students and building multidisciplinary scholarly and civic engagement projects.”
Roediger earned a bachelor’s from Northern Illinois University and a doctorate in history at Northwestern University in 1979. He previously served on the faculty at Northwestern University, the University of Missouri and the University of Minnesota.
Roediger will begin his work at KU during the 2014-15 academic year. He will have a joint appointment in American Studies and History. In addition to the added recognition gained by hiring KU’s first Foundation Distinguished Professor, each department anticipates critical new projects will develop, drawing top graduate students and scholars to KU.
The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. The university’s mission is to lift students and society by educating leaders, building healthy communities and making discoveries that change the world. The KU News Service is the central public relations office for the Lawrence campus.
kunews@ku.edu | 1450 Jayhawk Blvd., Suite 37, Lawrence, KS 66045-
See more at: http://news.ku.edu/2014/01/10/david-roediger-named-first-foundation-professor#sthash.DmKORuQB.dpuf
Colorblind: Discussion with Jesse Phillippe of ZNet
July 29, 2013
Colorblind is a recent discussion with Jesse Phillippe of ZNet. The talk explores what a “colorblind” nation in 2013 means against current racialized events, past race and management history in the America, and recent social movements against the growing wealth disparity between classes.
International Labor History Association book of the year: The Production of Difference
July 20, 2013
The International Labor History Association (ILHA) has announced the ILHA Book of the Year Award for 2012 as follows: The volume, The Production of Difference, published by Oxford University Press (2012), is by David R. Roediger and Elizabeth D. Esch.
More information about the award can be found on the book description page for The Production of Difference.
New Book: The Production of Difference
April 29, 2012
The Production of Difference: Race and The Management of Labor in U.S. History, a new book co-written with Elizabeth Esch, will be released in May and can be pre-ordered now through Oxford University Press.
For more information, and a promotional code for 20% off direct orders, view the full announcement below.
FULL ANNOUCEMENT [pdf]
Haymarket Scrapbook – 125th Anniversary Edition
April 29, 2012
Marking the 125th anniversary of the 1886 bombing at Chicago’s Haymarket Square, a revised and expanded edition of the Haymarket Scrapbook has been released. The new edition, a collaboration between Kerr Company and anarchist publishing house AK Press, preserves the original composition of the 1986 edition and expands the included material to encompass several new essays and articles on the importance of Haymarket for contemporary labor struggles.
This profusely illustrated anthology reproduces hundreds of original documents, speeches, posters, and handbills, as well as contributions by many of today’s finest labor and radical historians focusing on Haymarket’s enduring influence around the world—including the eight-hour workday.
FULL ANNOUNCEMENT [pdf]
Wages of Whitness & Racist Symbolic Capital
February 18, 2011
Wages of Whiteness & Racist Symbolic Capital, a new book from Lit-Verlag, is available now. Check it out at the Lit-Verlag website.
