'Human' History of Slave Ships Focus of Lecture Oct. 26

The ignoble history of the wooden ships used during the slave trade that plied the Atlantic Ocean will be the focus of a lecture sponsored by the Department of History on Thursday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. in Room 225, Curry Building.

Dr. Marcus Rediker, professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh and an expert on the real-life pirates of the Caribbean, will deliver the Richard S. Wells Lecture in Early American History. Rediker, who won the Merle Curti Social History award given by the Organization of American Historians, will discuss his upcoming book “The Slave Ship: A Human History.”

The book provides what Rediker calls a “history from below,” a viewpoint that highlights how ordinary people contribute to history. Sometimes referred to as “floating dungeons,” because of the appalling conditions aboard ship, both for slaves and crew members, the ships that carried slaves from the African coast to the Americas offer a trove of information about of maritime life during the three centuries of the slave trade.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information contact the Department of History at (336) 334-5992.