Annette Gordon-Reed

Annette Gordon-Reed wins a MacArthur and talks to the Bulletin about investigative history, redefining idols and inviting Jefferson to the Tea Party.

Harvard Law School Professor Annette Gordon-Reed ’84 was inducted as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and served as the academy’s Class IV speaker at the 2011 induction ceremony, held Oct. 1.

Part of the American Presidents Series, this volume, excerpted below, examines the life and political career of Andrew Johnson, possibly the nation’s worst president, according to Gordon-Reed.

Harvard Law School Professor Annette Gordon-Reed ’84 has been elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. One of 212 new members, Gordon-Reed joins leaders from academia, business, public affairs, the humanities and the arts among the ranks of the Academy.

Harvard Law School Professor Annette Gordon-Reed ’84 was recently appointed to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ newly-established Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences, a national commission charged with bolstering teaching and research in the humanities and social sciences. Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust will also take part in the initiative.

Annette Gordon-Reed ’84, an award-winning historian, is one of 23 recipients of the 2010 MacArthur Fellowship, more commonly known as the MacArthur “Genius Award.” Gordon-Reed—the recipient of the National Humanities Medal, the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award—was recognized for dramatically changing the course of Jeffersonian scholarship.

Award-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed J.D. ’84 will join the Harvard faculty in July 2010 as a Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and a Professor of History in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Gordon-Reed will also be the Carol K. Pforzheimer Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

The family stories of black Americans and the findings of population geneticists make clear that Michelle Obama’s family history is far from unique. The vast majority of black Americans whose ancestors were enslaved in North America have some degree of mixed ancestry.

Annette Gordon-Reed has won a Pulitzer Prize in history for her book, “The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family,” which examines four generations of a slave family owned by Thomas Jefferson. The prize includes a $10,000 award.

In an April 1 panel hosted by the Harvard Law School Law and Arts Initiative entitled “Don’t Quit Your Day Job,” several HLS alumni and practicing attorneys discussed how to balance a successful legal career while also working in the arts. Panelists included successful writers and television and film producers.