By Beth Roberts
By Beth Roberts
Edward J. Larson, professor of history and of law, has been awarded the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for history for his book Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion.
The award is the first Pulitzer to be received by a UGA faculty member.
Larson has been on the faculty since 1987. He was a 1992 recipient of the Richard B. Russell Award for Undergraduate Teaching at the university. The Russell Awards committee noted that he "brings to the classroom a varied background that mixes scholarship with experience as a lawyer in government and private practice."
Larson could not be reached when the Pulitzer Board made its announcement the afternoon of April 14. He had taught a couple of classes at UGA that morning and then hopped on a plane to Michigan to deliver a lecture. When he arrived at his hotel, he was greeted by a smiling clerk who told him, "We have a lot of messages for you."
Reaction to the news
The messages were from staff members in the University Communications office back at UGA and from dozens of reporters trying to get his reaction to the news.
And his reaction? "I was dumbfounded," says Larson. "This is beyond my wildest dreams."
Meanwhile, back in Athens, UGA President Michael F. Adams shared news of the award with several hundred faculty members and students gathered in the Chapel to hear an afternoon lecture on religion in modern America by University of Chicago scholar Martin Marty. The audience--including the speaker--responded with cheers and enthusiastic applause.
'Terrific writer'
History department chair David Roberts, on hearing the news, commented that Larson is "a terrific writer with a knack for concise and elegant expression. He also writes amazingly fast, which makes him the envy of his history department colleagues."
Larson holds both a law degree from Harvard and a Ph.D. in the history of science from the University of Wisconsin.
His research examines the intersection of science, religion and law in American culture, focusing on evolution, eugenics, creationism and similar controversial issues.
