Noted historian to speak on empire and liberty

KALAMAZOO--A historian in wide demand for his views on a variety of historical topics will address an audience next month at Western Michigan University as a visiting scholar.

Dr. Fred Anderson, professor of history at Colorado State University, will speak at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 6, in the Meader Rare Book Room of Waldo Library. His presentation, titled "Empire and Liberty in 18th-Century North America," draws upon the Oxford History of the United States volume he is writing with Miami University Distinguished Professor of History Andrew Cayton and is free and open to the public.

Anderson, one of the Organization of American Historians' "distinguished lecturers," earned his bachelor's degree from Colorado State University in 1971 and his doctoral degree from Harvard University in 1981. He has taught at Harvard and has held fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Charles Warren Center of Harvard University, the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation.

He is the author or editor of five books, including "Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766 " which won the 2001 Francis Parkman Prize as best book in American history. Together with Cayton, he recently published "The Dominion of War: Empire and Liberty in North America, 1500-2000." His most recent book, "The War That Made America: A Short History of the French and Indian War," was the companion volume for the Public Broadcasting System television series of the same title. He and Andrew Cayton are currently engaged in writing "Imperial America, 1672-1764," a volume in the Oxford History of the United States.

Anderson's visit is sponsored by the WMU Department of History and Center for the Humanities and through WMU's Visiting Scholars and Artists Program.

Established in 1960, the Visiting Scholars and Artists Program significantly contributes to the intellectual life of WMU and the community. The program provides funds for academic units to bring distinguished scholars and artists to campus. These visitors meet with faculty and students in their fields and address the community at large.

Since the program began, it has supported some 600 visits by scholars and artists representing more than 60 academic disciplines.

For more information, contact Dr. Sally Hadden, WMU associate professor of history, at @email or (269) 387-4178.