Marcus Rediker

Marcus Rediker
Rediker during a 2019 interview
Born
Marcus Buford Rediker[2]

(1951-10-14) October 14, 1951 (age 73)
SpouseWendy Z. Goldman
Children2
AwardsMerle Curti Award (1988, 2008)
George Washington Book Prize (2008)
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania (Ph.D.)
ThesisSociety and Culture Among Anglo-American Deep Sea Sailors, 1700-1750 (1982)
Academic advisorsRichard Slator Dunn
Mike Zuckerman[1]
Academic work
EraEarly modern period
DisciplineSocial history
Sub-disciplineHistory of slavery
InstitutionsGeorgetown University
University of Pittsburgh
Websitemarcusrediker.com

Marcus Buford Rediker (born October 14, 1951) is an American historian, writer, professor, and social activist. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1976 and attended the University of Pennsylvania for graduate study, earning an Master of Arts and Ph.D. in history. He taught at Georgetown University from 1982 to 1994 and is currently a Distinguished Professor of Atlantic History of the Department of History at the University of Pittsburgh.[3]

Rediker is best known for his books on piracy and the Middle Passage that follow a people's history narrative. On occasion, Rediker has collaborated with contemporaries such as Peter Linebaugh and Paul Buhle. Rediker has also worked on the production of a one-man show based on Quaker abolitionist Benjamin Lay with playwright Naomi Wallace as well as a documentary on La Amistad with filmmaker Tony Buba.

Politically, Rediker has described himself as far-left, but he does not align with any political party.[4] Rediker is a staunch opponent of capital punishment and supports reparations for slavery. He is a two-time winner of the Merle Curti Award and won the George Washington Book Prize in 2008. Rediker received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, American Council of Learned Societies, and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and was recognized by the Organization of American Historians as a distinguished lecturer from 2002 to 2008.

  1. ^ Fea, John (2022-02-04). "What historians are saying about the death of Richard S. Dunn". Current. Archived from the original on 2023-10-26. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  2. ^ Rediker, Marcus (1982). Society and Culture Among Anglo-American Deep Sea Sailors, 1700-1750 (Ph.D. thesis). Archived from the original on 2023-10-26. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  3. ^ University of Pittsburgh profile Archived 2008-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).