Richard Slotkin

Richard Slotkin is the Olin Professor of American Studies, Emeritus, at Wesleyan University. He is a cultural critic and historian, who has written extensively on the role of myth-making in shaping American politics and national identity. "A Great Disorder: National Myth and the Battle for America" (2024) uses the nation's foundational myths as keys to understanding the contemporary culture wars. It has been longlisted for the National Book Award. He is the author of an award-winning trilogy on the Myth of the Frontier. "Regeneration Through Violence: The Mythology of the American Frontier, 1600-1860" (1973), won the Albert Beveridge Award of the American Historical Association and was a finalist for the National Book Award. "The Fatal Environment: The Myth of the Frontier in the Age of Industrialization, 1800-1890" (1985) won the Little Big Horn Associates Literary Award. "Gunfighter Nation: The Myth of the Frontier in Twentieth Century America" (1992) was a National Book Award Finalist. He has also written on the Civil War and WWI, and several works of historical fiction, including "Abe: A Novel of the Young Lincoln" (2000) which won the Shaara Prize for Civil War fiction.