'An Ohio Story'
Ohio Wesleyan's March 20 Vogel Lecture to Concentrate on Ohio Labor History
DELAWARE, Ohio – Michael Pierce, Ph.D., associate professor of History at the University of Arkansas, will discuss "Why There Is No Socialism in America: An Ohio Story" when he presents Ohio Wesleyan University's annual Joseph and Edith Vogel Lecture.
Pierce, author of "Striking with the Ballot: Ohio Labor and the Populist Party," will speak at 7 p.m. March 20 in the Benes Rooms inside OWU's Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware. Admission is free.
His areas of academic interest include labor and race. He currently is working on a project focusing on the ways a coalition of labor and civil rights groups brought New Deal/Great Society-style liberalism to Arkansas in the late 1960s and early 1970s and the reasons why politicians such as Bill Clinton, David Pryor, and Dale Bumpers rejected that type of liberalism for one more friendly to the state's corporate interests.
In addition to "Striking with the Ballot," Pierce is the co-editor of books such as "Race, Labor and Violence in the Delta." He also serves as associate editor of the Arkansas Historical Quarterly and directs the University of Arkansas Humanities Center's Nelson Hackett Project, which follows the journey of Hackett, a slave who fled the state for Canada in 1841.
Pierce earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Kenyon College and his Master of Arts and doctoral degrees in History from The Ohio State University.
Ohio Wesleyan's annual Joseph and Edith Vogel Lecture is made possible through an endowment from their son, Ezra Vogel, Ph.D., a 1950 Ohio Wesleyan graduate (now deceased). He was a retired professor of East Asian Studies at Harvard University and author of the critically acclaimed book, "Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China." The lecture is organized by the OWU Department of History. Learn more about the department at owu.edu/history.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation's premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and competes in 24 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through its signature experience, the OWU Connection, Ohio Wesleyan teaches students to understand issues from multiple academic perspectives, volunteer in service to others, build a diverse and global perspective, and translate classroom knowledge into real-world experience through internships, research, and other hands-on learning. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book "Colleges That Change Lives" and included on the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review "Best Colleges" lists. Connect with OWU expert interview sources at owu.edu/experts or learn more at owu.edu.