A book on the politics of slavery, edited by Craig Hammond, assistant professor of history at Penn State New Kensington, will be published in early 2011 by the University of Virginia Press.
"Contesting Slavery: The Politics of Slavery in the New American Nation," is an anthology of essays that challenges the conventional wisdom of the expansion of slavery after the American Revolution. Hammond co-edited the book with Matthew Mason, associate professor of history at Brigham Young University.
"There were a number of new studies that examined the politics of slavery," Hammond said. "Matt and I recognized that there was a need to look at these arguments collectively."
The collection of 16 essays, written by scholars and historians, challenges the story about the persistence of slavery in the early American republic.
"We needed to ask how the studies not only challenged the conventional story," Hammond said, "but how they created an entirely new story about slavery’s fate after the American Revolution."
Throughout his academic career, Hammond has written extensively on slavery and sectionalism and his works have been published as articles, book reviews and encyclopedia entries. His first book, "Slavery, Freedom, and Expansion in the Early American West," was published in 2007 as a part of UVA's Jeffersonian America Series. The new book also is a part of the series.
A native of Philadelphia, Hammond earned his bachelor's degree in physics at Temple University and his doctorate in history at the University of Kentucky. He joined the campus faculty in 2008 and teaches United States and world history.
Hammond has lectured at various symposiums and conferences and will speak on the history of India at noon on Friday, April 9 in the campus' Academic and Career Success Center. The talk, "India Resurgent: India's Place in the World Economy, 1500-2010," will be held in conjunction with Penn State New Kensington's "Year on India" celebration and the Elizabeth E. Blissell Library's Faculty Lecture series that is organized each semester by Jennifer Gilley, head librarian.
For more information, contact Hammond at jch24@psu.edu.