American Book Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 17 (1996) Winner
James W. Loewen
ジェームズ・W・ローウェン
James W. Loewen
Aliases:
Jim Loewen / James Loewen
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1942-02-06 （Decatur, Illinois, U.S.）
- Died
- 2021-08-19 （Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.） age 79
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Decatur, Illinois (birthplace) → Tougaloo, Mississippi (Tougaloo College) → Burlington, Vermont (University of Vermont) → Washington, D.C. (Catholic University of America, visiting) → Bethesda, Maryland (place of death)
Career
- Occupations
- Historian, Author, Sociologist
- Active Years
- 1963-2021
- Affiliations
- Tougaloo College, University of Vermont, The Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.)
- Memberships
- Omicron Delta Kappa (honoris causa)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MacArthur High School | — | — | — | 〜1960 | United States |
| Carleton College | — | — | — | 1960年代（在学中にミシシッピで研修） | United States |
| Harvard University | — | Sociology | PhD | 1960年代（博士課程） | United States |
MacArthur High School
Period:
〜1960
Year of Graduation:
1960
Country:
United States
National Merit Scholar
Carleton College
Period:
1960年代（在学中にミシシッピで研修）
Country:
United States
Spent a semester in Mississippi as a junior; formative research experience
Harvard University
Sociology
Degree:
PhD
Period:
1960年代（博士課程）
Country:
United States
PhD in sociology based on research on Chinese Americans in Mississippi
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Lillian Smith Book Award | Mississippi: Conflict & Change (co-edited) | — | Lillian Smith Book Award committee | 受賞 |
| — | Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award | Sundown Towns | — | Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award organization | 受賞 |
Lillian Smith Book Award
1975
Work:
Mississippi: Conflict & Change (co-edited)
Organization:
Lillian Smith Book Award committee
Result:
受賞
Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award
Work:
Sundown Towns
Organization:
Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award organization
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White
1971 Non-fiction / Social historyA social-historical study of Chinese Americans in Mississippi, analyzing their position within the region's racial structure.
Race relationsImmigrant historyLocal community
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your High School History Textbook Got Wrong
1995 Criticism / History educationExamines errors and biases in American high school history textbooks, criticizing factual inaccuracies, Eurocentrism, and omissions.
History educationTextbook criticismRace and representation
Adaptations
- [Interview (television)] Booknotes interview (1995)
Lies Across America: What Our Historic Markers and Monuments Get Wrong
1999 Criticism / Public historyIdentifies inaccuracies and myth-making in historic markers and monuments across the U.S., highlighting problems in public representations of history.
Monument criticismPublic historyMemory and history
Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism
2005 Non-fiction / Local historyDocuments histories of sundown towns that excluded minorities after dark, using archival research and fieldwork to reveal deep-rooted racial exclusion.
RacismHistory of exclusionLocal communities
Teaching What Really Happened: How to Avoid the Tyranny of Textbooks and Get Students Excited About Doing History
2009 Education / Practical guideCritiques textbook-centered instruction and offers methods and practices to engage students in active historical inquiry.
PedagogyHistorical thinkingCurriculum reform
Up a Creek, With a Paddle: Tales of Canoeing and Life
2020 Memoir / EssaysA memoir of life experiences, canoeing tales, and reflections on race and the practice of history.
MemoirNature and lifeHistorical awareness
Bibliography
- The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White (1971)
- Mississippi: Conflict & Change (co-edited, 1974)
- Social Science in the Courtroom (1982)
- The Truth About Columbus (1992)
- Lies My Teacher Told Me (1995, reissued)
- Lies Across America (1999)
- Sundown Towns (2005)
- Teaching What Really Happened (2009)
- The Confederate and Neo-Confederate Reader (co-edited, 2010)
- Lies My Teacher Told Me: Young Readers' Edition (2019)
- Up a Creek, With a Paddle (2020)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Critical non-fictionSociological and empirical analysisAccessible, polemical prose
- Recurring Motifs
- Exposing errors in textbooks and markersHistoricizing and revealing racismStructures of exclusion in local histories
Health
-
Bladder cancer (Stage IV)2019-2021Diagnosed Stage IV in 2019; underwent treatment 2019–2021 and died in 2021.
Legacy
Challenged textbook narratives and public history, significantly influencing American history education and collective memory. His work on sundown towns helped reveal local-level racial exclusion.
Academic Societies
- Omicron Delta Kappa (honoris causa)
Archives
- Sundown Project archives (associated with Tougaloo College)
- Personal website and related materials (justice.tougaloo.edu)
Quotes
-
History should not be taught as straightforward facts and dates to memorize, but as analysis of the context and root causes of events.
Source: Lies My Teacher Told Me (1995) (1995)
Trivia
- Was a National Merit Scholar in high school.
- Co-edited a Mississippi history textbook that was rejected by the Mississippi Textbook Purchasing Board; the resulting case Loewen v. Turnipseed is considered an important First Amendment case.
- 'Lies My Teacher Told Me' (1995) became highly influential and was listed by The New Press as one of its top sellers.
- 'Sundown Towns' spurred nationwide efforts to identify and list sundown towns.