Ari Kelman (born 1968) is Chancellor’s Leadership Professor of History at

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

. Until 2016, he was the McCabe Greer Professor of History at Penn State University. His fields of specialization are the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states t ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, Native American, and

environmental history Environmental history is the study of human interaction with the natural world over time, emphasising the active role nature plays in influencing human affairs and vice versa. Environmental history first emerged in the United States out of th ...

. Kelman's book, '' A Misplaced Massacre,'' won the 2014

Bancroft Prize The Bancroft Prize is awarded each year by the trustees of Columbia University for books about diplomacy or the history of the Americas. It was established in 1948, with a bequest from Frederic Bancroft, in his memory and that of his brother, ...

, Avery O. Craven Award, Tom Watson Brown Book Award, and Robert M. Utley Prize.

Education

Kelman received his Bachelor of Arts in history from the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

in 1991. He completed his graduate and doctoral work in history at Brown University, receiving a Master of Arts in 1993 and a Ph.D. in 1998.

Books

Kelman first book, ''A River and Its City'' (

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by facult ...

, 2003; paperback 2006), is an

of the city of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, especially focusing on the city's uneasy relationship with the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. ''A River and Its City'' won the 2004 Abbott Lowell Cummings Prize, awarded annually "to the publication that has made the most significant contribution to the study of

vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. This category encompasses a wide range and variety of building types, with differing methods of construction, from around the world, bo ...

and cultural landscapes of North America." His second book, ''A Misplaced Massacre'' (Harvard University Press, 2013), explores the struggles over how the notorious Sand Creek massacre of 1864 should be remembered, beginning in the immediate aftermath of the violence and continuing through the opening of the

Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site is a National Historic Site in Kiowa County, Colorado, commemorating the Sand Creek Massacre that occurred here on November 29, 1864. The site is considered sacred after the unprovoked assault on an e ...

. Through archival research and oral history interviews, Kelman documents how

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

employees, local landowners, and descendants of victims of the Sand Creek massacre worked together to develop an appropriate memorial for the historic site. ''A Misplaced Massacre'' has been reviewed extensively. His most recent book, with artist Jonathan Fetter-Vorm, is a non-fiction

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

entitled ''Battle Lines: A Graphic History of the Civil War'' (

Hill & Wang Hill & Wang is an American book publishing company focused on American history, world history, and politics. It is a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Hill & Wang was founded as an independent publishing house in 1956 by Arthur Wang (1917/ ...

, 2015).

Other work

During and after Hurricane Katrina, Kelman wrote articles describing New Orleans' environmental history for such popular media outlets as ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...

'', '' Slate'', and ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

''. From 2005-2007, Kelman was senior creative consultant for the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

series,

American Experience ''American Experience'' is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American his ...

: New Orleans. He is a regular contributor to ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

''. Kelman also co-founded the award-winning blog The Edge of the American West.

References

External links

UC Davis websitePersonal website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelman, Ari Living people University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Brown University alumni Pennsylvania State University faculty University of California, Davis faculty Bancroft Prize winners 1968 births