Marcus Rediker

Marcus Buford Rediker (born October 14, 1951) is an American historian, writer, professor, and social activist. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1976 and attended the University of Pennsylvania for graduate study, earning an Master of Arts and Ph.D. in history. He taught at Georgetown University from 1982 to 1994 and is currently a Distinguished Professor of Atlantic History of the Department of History at the University of Pittsburgh.

Rediker is best known for his books on piracy and the Middle Passage that follow a people's history narrative. On occasion, Rediker has collaborated with contemporaries such as Peter Linebaugh and Paul Buhle. Rediker has also worked on the production of a one-man show based on Quaker abolitionist Benjamin Lay with playwright Naomi Wallace as well as a documentary on ''La Amistad'' with filmmaker Tony Buba.

Politically, Rediker has described himself as far-left, but he does not align with any political party. Rediker is a staunch opponent of capital punishment and supports reparations for slavery. He is a two-time winner of the Merle Curti Award and won the George Washington Book Prize in 2008. Rediker received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, American Council of Learned Societies, and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and was recognized by the Organization of American Historians as a distinguished lecturer from 2002 to 2008. Provided by Wikipedia