Belltower on a sunny Spring day. PHOTO BY ROGER WINSTEAD

NEWS FROM THE PROVOST

NC State’s annual Diversity Education Week is still a month away, but here’s a sneak peek at one of the major events planned for this year’s diversity extravaganza. Renowned author Dr. James Loewen will speak at the annual Fall Diversity Dialogue on Tuesday, October 18, 2016 with not one, but two presentations on campus!

From speakoutnow.org, Loewen’s biography partially reads:

James W. Loewen is an acclaimed historian and best-selling author whose mission is to overturn myths and misinformation that too often pass for U.S. history.

A highly sought-after speaker and author, he engages audiences with intelligence and humor, honing in on a range of topics encompassing U.S. history, multicultural education, civil rights, race relations, voting rights, law and social science.

His gripping retelling of U.S. history, Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your High School History Textbook Got Wrong (1995) was the result of two years research, comparing twelve U.S. history textbooks widely used throughout the country. Lies My Teacher Told Me is, in part, a telling critique of existing books but more importantly, a wonderful retelling of U.S history as it should – and could – be taught to students. The book has sold some one million copies and was the winner of the 1996 American Book Award and the Oliver Cromwell Cox Award for Distinguished Anti-Racist Scholarship.

Loewen’s latest book is The Confederate and Neo-Confederate Reader: The “Great Truths” about the “Lost Cause” (with Edward Sebesta) that examines the original reasoning behind secession and subsequent myth-making was in defense of slavery and white supremacy.

Be sure to attend one of the following special events:

Fall Diversity Dialogue, Part 1
Dr. James Loewen: How Historic Sites Mislead the Public
Tuesday, October 18, 2016, 2:00-3:30 p.m., Stewart Theater, Talley Student Union
Book signing: University Bookstore, Talley Student Union, 3:30- 4:15 p.m.
Target Audience: Faculty and staff (open to all/open to the public)

Program Description: Princeton University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Tulsa, UNC-Chapel Hill, University of Alabama, University of South Carolina, East Carolina University and Clemson University are among a long list of colleges and universities in recent years where students have called for the removal of the names of people they do not deem honorable from buildings. Dr. James Loewen, author of the national bestseller Lies Across America, will share insight from his book, the second myth-busting history book which focuses on the inaccuracies, myths and lies that can be found at national landmarks and historical sites all across America. Through his research, Dr. James W. Loewen overturns the myths and misinformation that too often pass for American history. His work is a comprehensive examination of sites all over the country where history is literally written on the landscape, including historical markers, monuments, historic houses, forts and ships. His work includes entries drawn from each of the fifty states.

Fall Diversity Dialogue, Part 2
Dr. James Loewen: Lies My Teacher Told Me and Race Relations Today
Tuesday, October 18, 2016, 6:00-8:00 p.m., Stewart Theater, Talley Student Union
Book signing: Outside of Stewart Theater, Talley Student Union, 8:00-8:30 p.m.
Target Audience: Students (open to all/open to the public)

Program Description: James W. Loewen is an acclaimed historian and best-selling author whose mission is to overturn myths and misinformation that too often pass for U.S. history. A highly sought-after speaker and author, he engages audiences with intelligence and humor, honing in on a range of topics encompassing U.S. history, multicultural education, civil rights, race relations, voting rights, law and social science.

The book signings will feature the following books by Dr. Loewen:

• Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong (1995)
• Lies Across America (2007)
• Teaching What Really Happened: How to Avoid the Tyranny of Textbooks and Get Students Excited About Doing History (2009)

We look forward to seeing you at the annual Fall Diversity Dialogue. Watch for the full calendar of Diversity Education Week events coming soon in the Diversity Digest.

Dr. Tracey Ray is assistant vice provost for student diversity in the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity.