UNC Asheville Hosts Talk by Historian James Loewen

UNC Asheville will host an evening with historian James Loewen at 8 p.m. Friday, March 18, in UNC Asheville’s Highsmith University Union Alumni Hall. The author of five acclaimed books, Loewen will give a talk on the inaccuracies that pervade many history textbooks. A book signing will follow his presentation. General admission tickets are $2.

Loewen’s research seeks to correct interpretations of history that are inaccurate. His book, “Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong,” received several awards, including the 1996 American Book Award and the Oliver Cromwell Cox Award for Distinguished Anti-Racist Scholarship. His newest book, “Lies Across America: What Our Historic Markers and Monuments Get Wrong,” explores the mistakes touted on public monuments. Loewen is currently conducting research for a forthcoming book on “Sundown Towns,” all-white American communities that expelled blacks and other ethnic minorities during the early 20th century. He holds a doctorate in sociology from Harvard University and previously taught courses on race relations at the University of Vermont and Tougaloo College.

The talk is sponsored by UNC Asheville’s Humanities Student Association and is co-sponsored by UNC Asheville’s History Department, Black Student Association, Honors Program and Teaching Fellows Program.

For more information or for tickets, call UNC Asheville’s Special Events Box Office at 828/232-5000.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Katie Peters, UNC Asheville Honors Program Associate Director, 828/251-6607
• Jill Yarnall, UNC Asheville Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526