Bailyn to Give Lecture

Bernard Bailyn, Adams University professor and James Duncan Phillips professor of Early American History, emeritus, has been chosen to deliver the 27th Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities. The lectureship is the highest honor for achievement in the humanities given by the United States government, and it carries an honorarium of $10,000.

Bailyn, will give a lecture entitled '"To Begin the World Anew': Politics and the Creative Imagination." The talk is scheduled for March 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C.

The annual Jefferson lecture, established by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in 1972, honors the intellectual and civic virtues as exemplified by Thomas Jefferson.

"The Endowment's mission is to promote knowledge of human history, thought and culture and to enhance the role of the humanities throughout the nation," according to a press release.

Bailyn was selected by the National Council on the Humanities. The 26-member advisory board of the NEH is appointed by the President.

William Ferris, chair of the NEH, announced the honor. "Bernard Bailyn is one of America's most eminent historians," Ferris said. "His main work, on the ideas and beliefs that have shaped the American nation from the beginning, is an excellent context for taking stock of our nation's heritage as we stand at the cusp of the new millennium. I am delighted to name him this year's Jefferson Lecturer in the Humanities."

Bailyn's historical work centers on early American history, the American Revolution and the Anglo-American world in the pre-industrial era. Bailyn has devoted more than 40 years to teaching and studying American history at Harvard. Along the way, he has authored 11 books, two of which have won the Pulitzer Prize.

From 1983-1994, Bailyn served as the director of the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History.

Bailyn currently serves as the as the senior fellow in the Society of Fellows, and he directs the International Seminar on Atlantic History, which brings together young historians from many countries to study the history of Atlantic civilization.

As a recipient of this honor, Bailyn joins intellectual luminaries such as Robert Penn Warren, Saul Bellow, Barbara Tuchman and Toni Morrison, all of whom were chosen to deliver past Jefferson Lectures in the Humanities

Bailyn currently serves as the as the senior fellow in the Society of Fellows, and he directs the International Seminar on Atlantic History, which brings together young historians from many countries to study the history of Atlantic civilization.

As a recipient of this honor, Bailyn joins intellectual luminaries such as Robert Penn Warren, Saul Bellow, Barbara Tuchman and Toni Morrison, all of whom were chosen to deliver past Jefferson Lectures in the Humanities