BATAVIA -- A history professor from Columbia University will share insights from his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery," during an Oct. 10 talk at Genesee Community College.
Dr. Eric Foner will present the free lecture at 1 p.m. in the college's Stuart Steiner Theatre and will be available to sign copies of his 2011 award-winning book afterward.
The professor, who earned his doctorate degree from Columbia in 1969, specializes in Civil War and 19th century American history and is considered one of the foremost professionals in his field.
"As a historian, I recognize him as a giant in the field," said Derek Maxfield, GCC history instructor and coordinator of numerous Civil War initiatives throughout the past 18 months.
"His work on the Civil War and Reconstruction has shaped my own interpretation in important ways, and his newest book is destined to define the standards by which other works will be measured,'' Maxfield said in a college news release.
Contacted by The Daily News, Dr. Foner said he will be speaking basically about the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States and President Abraham Lincoln and his ideas and policies relating to slavery and race in America.
"It's pretty much related to the book I wrote a couple of years ago,'' he said.
The professor, who has been on the faculty at Columbia since 1982, said he also plans to talk about the Emancipation Proclamation and the importance of the slave-freeing document issued by Lincoln as the war raged in 1863.
The lecture is open to the public. The Steiner Theatre seats about 300, but there will also be a television feed into a college classroom for overflow purposes, the college advised.
