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Vernon Burton, historian and sociologist of the South,
to speak at FSC's Florida Lecture Series

LAKELAND, Fla. (Jan. 19, 2004) - Florida Southern College's Center for Florida History welcomes Dr. Vernon Burton, professor of history and sociology at the University of Illinois, Urbana, to the Florida Lecture Series Jan. 29. Burton's topic, "A Southerner's Civil War," addresses his book, "Gentleman and Officer: James B. Griffin's Civil War." The lecture will start at 7 p.m. in the William M. Hollis Seminar Room on campus. A book signing will follow the lecture, which is free and open to the public.

"I am delighted to have Vernon and his wife, Georganne, on campus," said James M. Denham, Director of the FSC Center for Florida History. "Both have just released 'Free Flag of Cuba: A Lost Novel by Lucy Holcombe Pickens,' a fictional account of the Narciso Lopez expedition to Cuba. Just released in paperback by LSU Press, the novel is a classic in Southern literature, the authorship of which the Burtons confirm."

Burton is one of America's premier historians and sociologists of the American South. Born in Royston, Ga. but reared in Ninety Six, S.C., Burton holds a bachelor's degree from Furman University and a doctorate from Princeton University. At the University of Illinois since 1974, Burton is currently professor of history and sociology and a senior research scientist at the university's National Center for Supercomputing Applications, where he heads the initiative for humanities and social science projects. He is the author or editor of more than a hundred articles and seven books, including "In My Father's House Are Many Mansions: Family Community in Edgefield, South Carolina," which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Burton's research and teaching interests include race relations, family, community, politics, religion, and the intersection of humanities and social science. He has received fellowships from the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the National Humanities Center, and the Carnegie Foundation.

About the Florida Lecture Series 
The Florida Lecture Series is produced by the Center for Florida History and sponsored by the FSC Alumni Association, the Robert and Rose Stahl Criminology Lecture Series, and the Robert W. and Susan E. McKnight Political Affairs Lecture Series. The program brings speakers to the Lakeland campus who approach the issue of "Florida Life and Culture" from a wide range of disciplines, including history, public affairs, law, sociology, criminology, anthropology, literature, music and art. Its overall objective is to create an opportunity for members of the community, faculty, and student body to listen to, interact with and learn from leading scholars and specialists of the state's history and culture. 

About Florida Southern College
Florida Southern is a four-year, private, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and a master of business administration degree accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Located in Lakeland, Fla., the college is home to the largest, single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world.

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