Pulitzer Prize-winning historian to serve as 2023 Carls-Schwerdfeger History lecturer

Alan Taylor, professor of history at the University of Virginia, will serve as the 2023 Carls-Schwerdfeger History lecturer Oct. 16 at Union University.

He will deliver two lectures while on campus. The first lecture will begin at 2 p.m. in Union’s Carl Grant Events Center discussing “Thomas Jefferson’s Education: Creating a Southern University.” Taylor will conclude his series with “American Republics: Union, Disunion and Expansion, 1783-1850” at 7:15 p.m. in the G. M. Savage Memorial Chapel.

Taylor is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for his works “William Cooper’s Town: Power and Persuasion on the Frontier of the Early American Republic” and “The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832.”

In addition to writing or editing 12 books on 18th and 19th century American history, Taylor has received several awards for his writing. His book “American Republics: A Continental History of the United States, 1783-1850,” which will be the focus of his evening lecture, was recently awarded the New York Historical Society’s Barbara and David Zalaznich Book Prize in American History.

An engaging lecturer, Taylor is known for his mastery of a narrative approach to history that combines fascinating storytelling with insightful analysis. He has taught at the University of California-Davis, Boston University and the University of Virginia after receiving his doctorate in history from Brandeis University.

All lectures are free and open to the public. To learn more, visit www.uu.edu/events/historylecture.