Author and historian Ernest Freeberg to give virtual presentation Feb. 16
Jan. 28, 2021
Author and award-winning historian Dr. Ernest Freeberg will give a virtual presentation about his recent book, A Traitor to His Species: Henry Bergh and the Birth of the Animal Rights Movement, on Tues., Feb. 16 at 4 p.m. A Q&A session will follow the presentation.
Freeberg’s book tells the story of the man who in 1866 founded the American Society for the Prevention and Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) – the first organization of its kind – and successfully promoted an anticruelty law that became a model for similar legislation across the country.
“In Gilded Age America, people and animals lived cheek-by-jowl in environments that were dirty and dangerous to man and beast alike,” the book description reads. “The industrial city brought suffering, but it also inspired a compassion for animals that fueled a controversial anti-cruelty movement. From the center of these debates, Henry Bergh launched a shocking campaign to grant rights to animals. A Traitor to His Species is revelatory social history, awash with colorful characters. Cheered on by thousands of men and women who joined his cause, Bergh fought with robber barons, Five Points gangs, and legendary impresario P.T. Barnum, as they pushed for new laws to protect trolley horses, livestock, stray dogs, and other animals.”
Freeberg, who grew up in New England, attended Middlebury College, and worked as a reporter for Maine Public Radio, is head of the Department of History and distinguished professor of humanities at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His teaching and research interests center on the cultural and intellectual history of the United States in the 19th and early 20th century.
He is the author of The Age of Edison: Electric Light and the Invention of Modern America (Penguin, 2013); Democracy’s Prisoner: Eugene V. Debs, The Great War, and the Right to Dissent (Harvard University Press, 2008), which was a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist, winner of the David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Legal History and the Eli Oboler Award from the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Roundtable; and The Education of Laura Bridgman (Harvard University Press, 2001), which won the American Historical Association’s 2002 Dunning Prize. Freeberg is a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians, has served on the editorial board of the History of Education Quarterly, and has produced a number of public radio documentaries on historical themes.
Dr. Doug Sofer, associate professor of history at Maryville College, said the interdisciplinary nature of A Traitor to His Species should make the Feb. 16 presentation of interest to a variety of people and groups.
“This presentation is for anyone who wants to make sense of humans’ relationships and responsibilities to the natural world,” Sofer said. “The book is about people struggling to understand our connection to nature at a time before we knew anything about ecology or issues of sustainability. Machines, artificial light, and railroads were still new and strange and changing our impact on animals in unprecedented ways. I think the topic is relevant to virtually everyone on campus: it connects to biology, environmental studies, religious studies, political science, philosophy, social psychology, criminal justice, sociology, and of course history. It’s interesting to anyone who’s interested in how people confront new ethical challenges in the face of changing technology.”
“Additionally, this presentation will be a chance for students and other members in the community to ask questions about Dr. Freeberg’s professional journey from a Maine public radio journalist to becoming an award-winning historian,” Sofer said.
The virtual event is planned for the Maryville College campus community; however, interested members of the public may join the Zoom event. Links can be obtained by emailing Sofer at doug.sofer@maryvillecollege.edu.