Richard Sidney Slotkin (born November 8, 1942) is a
cultural critic
A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole. Cultural criticism has significant overlap with social and cultural theory. While such criticism is simply part of the self-consciousness of the culture, the social positions of ...
and historian. He is the Olin Professor of English and
American Studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory.
Schol ...
, Emeritus at
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...
in
Middletown, Connecticut, and, since 2010, a member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
.
Slotkin writes novels alongside his historical research, and uses the process of writing the novels to clarify and refine his historical work.
Education and career
Richard Sidney Slotkin was born on November 8, 1942, in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. He received a B.A. degree from
Brooklyn College in 1963 and a Ph.D. in American Civilization from
Brown University in 1967.
He started teaching at
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...
in 1966 and helped establish the school's American studies and film studies program. He remained at Wesleyan until his retirement in 2009.
Awards
''Regeneration Through Violence'' received the
Albert J. Beveridge Award The Albert J. Beveridge Award is awarded by the American Historical Association (AHA) for the best English-language book on American history (United States, Canada, or Latin America) from 1492 to the present. It was established on a biennial basis ...
of the
American Historical Association
The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...
as the Best Book in American History (1973) and was a Finalist for the
National Book Award in 1974.
''Gunfighter Nation'' was a National Book Award Finalist in 1993.
In 1995, Slotkin received the Mary C. Turpie Award of the
American Studies Association
The American Studies Association (ASA) is a scholarly organization founded in 1951. It is the oldest scholarly organization devoted to the interdisciplinary study of U.S. culture and history. The ASA works to promote meaningful dialogue about t ...
for his contributions to teaching and program-building. His novel ''Abe: A Novel of the Young Lincoln'' won the 2000
Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction.
In 1976, he received an honorary Master of Arts degree in Art Education from Wesleyan University.
Works
*''Regeneration Through Violence: the Mythology of the American Frontier, 1600–1860'' (
Wesleyan University Press
Wesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist.
History and overview
Founded (in its present form ...
, 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
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, 2009)
*''The Long Road to Antietam: How the Civil War Became a Revolution'' (
W. W. Norton & Company, 2012)
References
External links
*
*
Richard Slotkin Papers. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slotkin, Richard
Living people
American cultural critics
21st-century American historians
21st-century American male writers
Brown University alumni
Writers from Connecticut
Brooklyn College alumni
Wesleyan University alumni
Wesleyan University faculty
Historians of the American West
1942 births
American male non-fiction writers