Department of History hosts Civil War historian for annual Sid Easley Lecture

MURRAY, Ky. – The Department of History at Murray State University is pleased to host Civil War historian Don H. Doyle, University of South Carolina Professor Emeritus of History, for the seventh annual Sid Easley Lecture on Monday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. in Wrather Auditorium. 

The Department of History’s lecture series is named in honor of Sid Easley, Murray State alumnus, former Murray State University Board of Regents chair, the first Golden Horseshoe Award recipient and long-time supporter of the Murray State Department of History. Thanks to the generosity of the Easley family, the lecture is free and open to the public, with a book signing and dessert reception to follow sponsored by Easley, Ernstberger, Perlow & Naber PLLC.

Dr. Don H. Doyle retired after a long and distinguished career teaching history at the University of Michigan (Dearborn), Vanderbilt, and the University of South Carolina, and served as a Fulbright Professor and Fulbright Specialist at various universities around the world. He has also been a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a Fellow of the National Humanities Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. He has written close to a dozen books, mainly focusing on the history of the American South, including volumes exploring the history of Nashville, the Civil War from an international perspective, secession and frontier communities.  

Doyle’s lecture at Murray State will be based on his new book entitled “The Age of Reconstruction: How Lincoln’s New Birth of Freedom Remade the World,” a history of how the outcome of the American Civil War inspired democratic reforms, revolutions, and emancipation movements in Europe and the Americas. Departing from the traditional domestic-oriented narration of the Civil War and its aftermath, Doyle takes a fresh approach to this history by telling the story of how these events not only shook up American society but also had huge reverberations around the world. 

“The members of the History Department are fortunate to welcome another excellent scholar to campus as the Easley Lecturer,” said Dr. Jim Humphreys, Murray State University Professor of History. “Don H. Doyle has devoted his career to teaching and writing about the American South and the international dimensions of the Civil War and Reconstruction era. The lecture is open to faculty, staff and students at Murray State University and to residents of Murray and the surrounding area or, in short, everybody. Doyle’s presentation will offer us a chance to learn about a neglected aspect of the Civil War and Reconstruction era, its impact on the rest of the world.”

For more information about the event, contact Dr. Jim Humphreys, Department of History at jhumphreys@murraystate.edu or Kala Dunn, Office of Development at kallendunn@murraystate.edu. For more information about the Department of History, visit murraystate.edu/history.

Gifts to support the Sid Easley lecture fund may be made online at murraystate.edu/giving or by check made payable to the Murray State University Foundation and mailed to the Murray State Office of Development at 200 Heritage Hall, Murray, KY 42071.