Chaucers Book Signing UCSB Professor John W.I. Lee
Chaucer's Books
Contact Details:
Phone: 805-682-6787
Email: events@chaucersbooks.com
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**Events may have been canceled or postponed. Please contact the venue to confirm the event.
Date & Time
Wed, Jun 08 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Address (map)
3321 State Street Santa Barbara, CA 93105
Venue (website)
Chaucer's Books
UCSB Associate Professor of History John W.I. Lee will talk about and sign his book THE FIRST BLACK ARCHAELOGIST: A LIFE OF JOHN WESLEY GILBERT at Chaucer’s Books (3321 State Street, 805-682-6787, chaucersbooks.com) on Wednesday, June 8 at 6 p.m.
Description
An inspiring portrait of an overlooked pioneer in Black history and American archaeology
The First Black Archaeologist reveals the untold story of a pioneering African American classical scholar, teacher, community leader, and missionary. Born into slavery in rural Georgia, John Wesley Gilbert (1863-1923) gained national prominence in the early 1900s, but his accomplishments are little
known today. Using evidence from archives across the U.S. and Europe, from contemporary publications, and from newly discovered documents, this book chronicles, for the first time, Gilbert’s remarkable journey. As we follow Gilbert from the segregated public schools of Augusta, Georgia, to the
lecture halls of Brown University, to his hiring as the first black faculty member of Augusta’s Paine Institute, and through his travels in Greece, western Europe, and the Belgian Congo, we learn about the development of African American intellectual and religious culture, and about the enormous
achievements of an entire generation of black students and educators.
known today. Using evidence from archives across the U.S. and Europe, from contemporary publications, and from newly discovered documents, this book chronicles, for the first time, Gilbert’s remarkable journey. As we follow Gilbert from the segregated public schools of Augusta, Georgia, to the
lecture halls of Brown University, to his hiring as the first black faculty member of Augusta’s Paine Institute, and through his travels in Greece, western Europe, and the Belgian Congo, we learn about the development of African American intellectual and religious culture, and about the enormous
achievements of an entire generation of black students and educators.
Readers interested in the early development of American archaeology in Greece will find an entirely new perspective here, as Gilbert was one of the first Americans of any race to do archaeological work in Greece. Those interested in African American history and culture will gain an invaluable new
perspective on a leading yet hidden figure of the late 1800s and early 1900s, whose life and work touched many different aspects of the African American experience.
perspective on a leading yet hidden figure of the late 1800s and early 1900s, whose life and work touched many different aspects of the African American experience.
About the Author
John W.I. Lee is Associate Professor of History at the University of California at Santa Barbara. His previous publications include A Greek Army on the March (Cambridge University Press) and The Persian Empire (The Great Courses/The Teaching Company).