Wilson, N.C. — Barton College will welcome renowned historian Dr. Paul D. Escott, Reynolds Professor of History at Wake Forest University, as the featured speaker for the upcoming BB&T Heritage Lecture in American History scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 18. Escott’s lecture is titled “History and Myth: Why We Misunderstand the Civil War.” Scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in The Sam and Marjorie Ragan Writing Center, this program is open to the public free of charge, and the community is invited to attend.
Escott is a nationally recognized authority on Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, the Civil War, and 19th Century North Carolina history. “The history of the Civil War Era looms large in our nation’s struggles to overcome racism and realize its ideals of freedom and equality,” shared Escott. “Even today, popular culture misrepresents the reality of the Civil War era in ways that obscure our understanding of our society’s past. Excessive glorification of the Confederacy or the Union can blind us to the nature of the problems that the United States has had to surmount or struggles with still.”
Prior to his appointment at Wake Forest University, Escott served on the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte from 1974 until 1988. During his last three years at UNC-Charlotte, Escott served as chair of the Department of History and, in 1987, he was named the Charles H. Stone Professor of American History. Escott joined the Wake Forest faculty in 1988 and was named Dean of the College in 1995, a role he held for nine years. He was named Reynolds Professor of History in 1990.
Escott earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (cum laude) from Harvard College, followed by a Master of Arts degree and a Ph.D. from Duke University. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Escott has received fellowships from the Whitney Young, Jr., Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, and twice won the Mayflower Cup Award for the best non-fiction book published by a resident of North Carolina.
For additional information about the program, please contact Dr. Jeff Broadwater, Department of History and Social Sciences, at 252-399-6443 or email: ojbroadwater@barton.edu.
This lectureship is endowed by BB&T, and the evening’s sponsors include the Department of History and Social Sciences at Barton College and the Wilson County Historical Association.
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Questions? Please contact Kathy Daughety, director of public relations, at 252-399-6529 or email: kdaughety@barton.edu.