Damon Akins to Deliver Annual Newlin Lecture in History Nov. 5
History Professor Damon Akins will give the college’s annual Algie I. Newlin Lecture, entitled “Me & Robert Magee: Becoming Indian in Southern California, 1850-1934,” on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. in the Moon Room, located in Dana Auditorium.
The talk explores the story of Robert Magee’s life as a way to better understand racial identity in southern California during a very dynamic time. Magee navigated through the dramatic changes to the environment, politics, economy and culture of San Diego County’s backcountry, and came to embrace his Indianness in a process that illuminates the ways external factors influence how we conceptualize ourselves and others. Additionally, the talk will address the question of how historians interact with the past to find and tell the stories it provides.
Akins is an assistant professor of history whose teaching focuses on Native American history, the history of the American West and environmental history. He will complete his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma this semester, where his research centered on Indians in Southern California.
The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, call 336-316-2226.
The Algie I. Newlin Lecture, sponsored annually by the history department, honors a key member of the department from 1924-66.
Oct. 21, 2008