An award-winning scholar of American history, slavery and abolition, piracy, social, cultural and labor history, Marcus Rediker, is the spring 2019 Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals. Rediker will present a keynote lecture on The Democratic Power of History from Below on Wednesday, May 1 at 7 p.m. in the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Art Auditorium.
Rediker, who is also a documentary filmmaker, has authored and edited many books, including award-winning The Many-Headed Hydra (2000), Slave Ship (2007), The Amistad Rebellion (2012) and, most recently, The Fearless Benjamin Lay (2017).
He is currently Distinguished Professor of Atlantic History at the University of Pittsburgh. Rediker has been active in social justice and peace movements, such as the worldwide campaign to end the death penalty.
As the Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals, Rediker will spend the entire spring semester at UH Mānoa, teaching a graduate seminar, “Writing History from Below,” in the Department of American Studies.
“Marcus Rediker is one of the nation’s premier social historians,” remarked Peter Arnade, UH Mānoa Dean of Arts and Humanities. “His writings have given voice to those too often lost to history.”
Other public events
- Thursday, April 11: In collaboration with Hawaiʻi J20+, a special screening of the documentary, Ghosts of Amistad: In the Footsteps of the Rebels, based on Rediker’s book, The Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom. Rediker, who also serves as producer, will introduce the film and engage in conversation with the audience. Doris Duke Theatre at the Honolulu Museum of Art, 7 p.m.
- Wednesday, April 17: Public conversation titled History, the Anthropocene, and the Commons with historian Peter Linebaugh, with whom he has collaborated on many projects including the co-authorship of The Many-Headed Hydra, King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center, 5:30 p.m.
All events are free and open to the public.
More about the Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals
Established in 2005 by the UH Board of Regents, the Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals brings significant public figures to Hawaiʻi to foster public discourse regarding democratic ideals and civic engagement. The program honors U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye and his wife, Maggie, for their lifetime of public service. The chair is housed in the UH Mānoa Department of American Studies in the College of Arts and Humanities and the William S. Richardson School of Law.
