Editorial Staff

Yale’s Pulitzer-Winning Prof. David Blight on Frederick Douglass, Slavery, & Emancipation

/in , , , , , , , , /by Editorial Staff
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara Candal and guest co-host Derrell Bradford talk with David Blight, Sterling Professor of American History and director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University. He is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom. He shares what drew him as a teenager in Flint, Michigan to the study of America’s past, and to Douglass in particular. He explains the role of Walter O. Evans, to whom he dedicated the book. They explore how the former slave Douglass became America’s foremost abolitionist statesman, and his morally powerful rhetoric, including his famous 1852 speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” They also cover his involvement in the 19th-century women’s rights movement, his marriages and family, and his later life at his home in D.C., as an elder statesman writing and shaping his enduring legacy. Professor Blight concludes with a reading from his Douglass biography.

Stories of the Week: New York City will require that all public school faculty, principals, and staff receive the COVID-19 vaccine. A Colorado school district is using innovative approaches, including billboard advertising, to address declining enrollment as a result of the pandemic.

Guest:

David Blight is Sterling Professor of American History and Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University. He is the author or editor of a dozen books, including American Oracle: The Civil War in the Civil Rights Era; and Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory; and annotated editions of Frederick Douglass’s first two autobiographies. He has worked on Douglass much of his professional life, and been awarded the Bancroft Prize, the Abraham Lincoln Prize, and the Frederick Douglass Prize, among others. His 2018 definitive biography, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, won the Pulitzer Prize for History, as well as the Lincoln, Bancroft, and Parkman prizes, and other awards. In 2021, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.

The next episode will air on Wednesday, September 1st, 2021 at 12 pm ET with guest, Nancy Poon Lue, the Chief Operating Officer for the EF+Math Program, based in Oakland, California.

Tweet of the Week:

News Links:

New York Times: Covid-19 Updates: F.D.A.’s Vaccine Approval Leads Pentagon and Others to Add Requirements

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/23/nyregion/nyc-schools-employee-vaccine-mandate.html

Chalkbeat: Adams 14, facing another year of declining enrollment, looks to attract students with billboards

https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/8/19/22631500/adams-14-schools-enrollment-billboards-attract-students

Get new episodes of The Learning Curve in your inbox!

Recent episodes:

Hillsdale’s Dr. Kathleen O’Toole on K-12 Classical Education

Dr. O'Toole explores Hillsdale's mission and its impact on K-12 education, delving into classical education, Greco-Roman ideals, Enlightenment principles, and the college’s efforts to enhance education. She discusses the challenges faced in exporting Hillsdale's model to K-12 public schooling, critiques of American education, and the role of the liberal arts in fostering academic unity amidst societal divisions.

National Alliance’s Nina Rees on Charter Public Schools in America

Prof. Albert Cheng and Charlie Chieppo interview Nina Rees from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools on policy gains, charter school growth, challenges, debates, federal spending, and academic recommendations.

Harvard Prof. Leo Damrosch on Jonathan Swift & Gulliver’s Travels

Harvard Prof. Leo Damrosch discusses Jonathan Swift's satirical genius, political critiques, and literary legacy. He emphasizes Swift's wit, insights, and commitment to liberty, and closes the interview with a reading from his book, Jonathan Swift: His Life and His World.

Vanderbilt’s Dr. Carol Swain on U.S. History, Race, & 1776 Unites

Dr. Carol Swain, a political scientist, discusses her background, experiences with discrimination, faith's role in justice, and her work with 1776 Unites and public intellectuals on The Learning Curve podcast.

Leslie Klinger on Sherlock Holmes, Horror Stories, & Halloween

Mr. Klinger discusses Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Edgar Allan Poe's influence on the detective genre, and the significance of 19th-century horror stories such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in popular culture.

Pioneer’s U.S. History & Civics Book with Chris Sinacola

Chris Sinacola discusses Pioneer's new book "Restoring the City on a Hill: U.S. History & Civics in America's Schools" based on U.S. K-12 history and civics education, highlighting declining standards, leadership importance, crisis, primary sources, and state profiles, underscoring academic content's value.

Prof. Jeff Broadwater on George Mason, Federalism, & the Bill of Rights

Prof. Broadwater delves into Mason's views on constitutionalism, federalism, leadership among Anti-Federalists, and concerns regarding emerging commercial interests. He emphasizes Mason's belief in civic virtue as the bedrock of American self-governance and even provides a reading from his biography on George Mason.

Former D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty on School Reform

Former D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty discusses his education reforms with Michelle Rhee, addressing DCPS challenges, politics, leadership transitions, and teacher unions in urban education reform.

UCLA’s Prof. James Stigler on Teaching & Learning Math

Professor Stigler discusses the enduring teaching and learning challenges in U.S. STEM education, international student achievement, math pedagogy debates, and international standardized tests. He explains possible strategies for mitigating COVID-19-related learning loss.

UK’s Laura Thompson on Agatha Christie, Queen of Crime Mystery

In this week's episode of The Learning Curve, guest co-hosts Mariam Memarsadeghi and Mary Connaughton interview Laura Thompson, author of "Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life." Ms. Thompson discusses into Agatha Christie's life, her iconic characters, and her impact on the mystery genre, including adaptations of her works in film and theater, as well as her mysterious 1926 disappearance. The interview concludes with a reading from Thompson's biography of Agatha Christie.