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Heather Ann Thompson

ヘザー・アン・トンプソン

Heather Ann Thompson

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
Lawrence, Kansas, U.S.
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Lawrence, Kansas → Bloomington, Indiana → Oxford, England → Rosedale Park, Detroit → Detroit, Michigan

Career

Occupations
Historian, Author, Activist, Professor
Active Years
1997-
Affiliations
University of North Carolina, Charlotte, Temple University, University of Michigan, Organization of American Historians
Memberships
Organization of American Historians, Member / participant on National Academies committees
Nominations
National Book Award for Nonfiction (Finalist, 2016), Cundill Prize in History (Finalist/Longlist, 2016/2017), Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Finalist, 2017)

Education

University of Michigan
History
Degree: BA
Country: United States
Bachelor's degree (year not specified)
University of Michigan
History
Degree: MA
Country: United States
Master's degree (year not specified)
Princeton University
History
Degree: PhD
Country: United States
PhD (year not specified)

Awards

Pulitzer Prize for History
2017
Work: Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy
Organization: The Pulitzer Prizes
Result: Winner
Bancroft Prize
2017
Work: Blood in the Water
Organization: Columbia University / Bancroft Prize Committee
Result: Winner
Ridenhour Book Prize
2017
Work: Blood in the Water
Organization: The Ridenhour Prizes
Result: Winner
J. Willard Hurst Book Prize
2017
Work: Blood in the Water
Organization: American Society for Legal History
Result: Winner
Law and Literature Prize
2017
Work: Blood in the Water
Result: Winner
Silver Gavel Award (Honorable Mention)
2017
Work: Blood in the Water
Organization: American Bar Association
Result: Honorable Mention
Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Finalist)
2017
Work: Blood in the Water
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: Finalist
New York City Bar Association Book Prize
2017
Work: Blood in the Water
Organization: New York City Bar Association
Result: Winner
National Book Award for Nonfiction (Finalist)
2016
Work: Blood in the Water
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: Finalist
Pitt Professorship of American History and Diplomacy
2019
Organization: University of Cambridge
Result: Appointed
Guggenheim Fellowship
2022
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: Fellowship
Soros Justice Fellowship
2006
Organization: Open Society Foundations
Result: Fellowship

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy

2016 History / Nonfiction

A comprehensive history of the 1971 Attica Prison uprising, detailing the state's violent response and the decades-long consequences for prisoners, families, and the American criminal justice system, based on extensive archival research and interviews.

Mass incarcerationCriminal justiceHuman rightsState violence
Adaptations
  • [Documentary film] Attica / Stanley Nelson（ほか含む） (2021)

Whose Detroit: Politics, Labor and Race in a Modern American City

2001 Urban history / Social history

A study of Detroit in the 1960s and 1970s examining police violence, the rise of black political power, and interactions among labor and politics in a modern American city.

Urban historyRace and politicsLabor movements

Speaking Out: Protest and Activism in the 1960s and 1970s (editor)

2009 Edited collection / History

An edited collection of essays and documents on protest and activism in the 1960s and 1970s.

Social movementsProtestPolitical history

Bibliography

  • Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy (2016)
  • Whose Detroit: Politics, Labor and Race in a Modern American City (2001; new edition 2017)
  • Speaking Out: Protest and Activism in the 1960s and 1970s (ed., 2009)

Adaptations

  • Documentary film 'Attica' (2021, Showtime) — served as lead historical consultant

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Narrative history grounded in extensive archival research and oral historiesDetailed, evidence-driven prose
Recurring Motifs
Mass incarceration and structural aspects of the criminal justice systemHuman rights and state violenceUrban social history and race

Legacy

Produced definitive scholarship on the Attica uprising and significantly influenced public debate on mass incarceration and criminal justice reform; highly regarded in both academic and public spheres.

Academic Societies

  • Organization of American Historians

Archives

  • Rockefeller Archive Center (research grant)

In Popular Culture

  • Served as lead historical consultant on the documentary 'Attica' (2021)

Trivia

  • Won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for History for 'Blood in the Water'.
  • Appointed Pitt Professor of American History and Diplomacy at the University of Cambridge (2019–2020).
  • Awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2022.