Alan Taylor
Encyclopedia
Alan Shaw Taylor is a Pulitzer-Prize-winning historian specializing in early American history. He is the author of a number of books about colonial America, the American Revolution, and the Early American Republic.
, in Waterville, Maine
, in 1977 and earned his Ph.D.
from Brandeis University
in 1986. His thesis advisor was Marvin Meyers, a historian of Jacksonian America, whom Taylor praised in the preface of his book Writing Early American History (2005). Currently he is a professor of history at the University of California, Davis
, having taught previously at Boston University
.
Taylor is best known for his contributions to microhistory, best exemplified in his Pulitzer-Prize winning history of William Cooper and the settlement of Cooperstown, New York. Using court records, land records, letters, and diaries, Taylor painstakingly reconstructs the economic, political and social history of New England and the settlement of New York. Taylor is also part of a generation of historians committed to the revival of narrative history, rejecting the method-driven, quantitative work of the previous generation of "new social historians" and the theory-laden work of more recent "new cultural historians." In addition to writing books for a wide public readership, Taylor is a regular contributor of book reviews and essays to The New Republic
.
Taylor's current research includes a borderlands history of Canada
and the United States
in the aftermath of the American Revolution. His book The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies was published by Alfred A. Knopf in October 2010.
Taylor is a devoted Boston Red Sox
fan, and is known for always wearing historically themed neckties.
Life
Taylor graduated from Colby CollegeColby College
Colby College is a private liberal arts college located on Mayflower Hill in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1813, it is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts college in the United States...
, in Waterville, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, in 1977 and earned his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
in 1986. His thesis advisor was Marvin Meyers, a historian of Jacksonian America, whom Taylor praised in the preface of his book Writing Early American History (2005). Currently he is a professor of history at the University of California, Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
, having taught previously at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
.
Taylor is best known for his contributions to microhistory, best exemplified in his Pulitzer-Prize winning history of William Cooper and the settlement of Cooperstown, New York. Using court records, land records, letters, and diaries, Taylor painstakingly reconstructs the economic, political and social history of New England and the settlement of New York. Taylor is also part of a generation of historians committed to the revival of narrative history, rejecting the method-driven, quantitative work of the previous generation of "new social historians" and the theory-laden work of more recent "new cultural historians." In addition to writing books for a wide public readership, Taylor is a regular contributor of book reviews and essays to The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
.
Taylor's current research includes a borderlands history of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the aftermath of the American Revolution. His book The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies was published by Alfred A. Knopf in October 2010.
Taylor is a devoted Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
fan, and is known for always wearing historically themed neckties.
Awards
- 1996 Bancroft PrizeBancroft PrizeThe Bancroft Prize is awarded each year by the trustees of Columbia University for books about diplomacy or the history of the Americas. It was established in 1948 by a bequest from Frederic Bancroft...
, for William Cooper's Town - 1996 Beveridge AwardBeveridge AwardThe Albert J. Beveridge Award was established in 1939 in memory of United States Senator Beveridge of Indiana, former secretary and longtime member of the American Historical Association , through a gift from his wife, Catherine Beveridge and donations from AHA members from his home state...
, for William Cooper's Town - 1996 Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for American History
Works
- Liberty Men and Great Proprietors: the Revolutionary Settlement on the Maine Frontier 1760-1820, Chapel Hill: University of North CarolinaUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
Press 1990. - William Cooper's Town: Power and Persuasion on the Frontier of the Early American Republic, New York: Alfred A. KnopfAlfred A. KnopfAlfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...
, 1995 - American Colonies, New York: Viking/Penguin, 2001.
- Writing Early American History, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania PressUniversity of Pennsylvania PressThe University of Pennsylvania Press is a university press affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, 2005. - The Divided Ground: Indians, Settlers, and the Northern Borderland of the American Revolution, New York: Alfred A. KnopfAlfred A. KnopfAlfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...
, 2006. - The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies, New York: Alfred A. KnopfAlfred A. KnopfAlfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...
, 2010.
External links
- The Pulitzer Guy, Colby College Colby Magazine, Winter 2002
- History Department profile at the University of California, DavisUniversity of California, DavisThe University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
- Lecture on The Civil War of 1812 at the Pritzker Military LibraryPritzker Military LibraryThe Pritzker Military Library is a research library for the study of military history in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded in 2003 by COL James N. Pritzker, IL ARNG to be a non-partisan institution for the study of "the citizen soldier as an essential element for the preservation of...