Dr. David Blight

Biography

David W. Blight is the Sterling Professor of American History at Yale University, having joined the faculty in January 2003. He taught at Amherst College for thirteen years prior to his appointment at Yale. Blight has played a significant role in the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale since 2004. He was a William Pitt Professor of American History at the University of Cambridge, UK, in 2013-14. His notable publications include works on Frederick Douglass and the Civil War, which have garnered him various awards, including the Anisfield-Wolf Award. Blight is an active participant in public history and has contributed extensively to discussions surrounding American memory and historical interpretation, including a notable essay on the memory of September 11. He has also consulted on documentary films and teaches courses on the Civil War and Reconstruction era, with a focus on race relations and historical memory. Blight's academic journey includes earning a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and serving as a senior Fulbright Professor in Germany. He is a member of various historical societies and has organized numerous conferences and public outreach programs on the themes of slavery and abolition.

Research Interests