Historian John French will give two Douglas Southall Freeman lectures about Latin American politicians

Duke University professor John D. French will give two lectures on Latin American politics as part of University of Richmond’s 2014 Douglas Southall Freeman Lectures. He will discuss “Towards a Biographical Pivot: A New Approach in Theory and Practice” March 20, 7:30 p.m., and “Lula’s Politics of Cunning: From Trade Unionism to the Brazilian Presidency” March 27, 7:30 p.m. Both lectures are free and open to the public, and will take place in the Brown-Alley Room, Weinstein Hall.

French, professor of history and African and African-American studies, is a historian of modern Latin America, specializing in Brazil. His books include “Drowning in Laws: Labor Law and Brazilian Political Culture” and “The Brazilian Workers’ ABC: Class Conflict and Alliances in Modern São Paulo.” He is currently finishing a biography of the charismatic former president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, popularly known as “Lula.”

The Douglas Southall Freeman Professorship of History was established in 1991 by the Freeman family to honor one of the university’s most accomplished alumni. It allows the Department of History to bring a distinguished visiting historian to campus each year to teach a course and give a series of lectures or organize a conference. Freeman won two Pulitzer Prizes for his multi-volume biographies of George Washington and Robert E. Lee, served as editor of The Richmond News Leader for 34 years and was rector of the Board of Trustees for 16 years.

For more information, contact Deborah Govoruhk at dgovoruh@richmond.edu or 804-289-8332.

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