Walter LaFeber
Encyclopedia
Walter LaFeber was a Marie Underhill Noll Professor
of History and a Stephen H. Weiss
Presidential Fellow in the Department of History
at Cornell University
. He is one of the United States' most distinguished historians, a revisionist
, of the nation's Foreign Relations.
The son of a grocer, he received his BA from Hanover College
in 1955, his MA from Stanford University
in 1956 and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
in 1959, after which Cornell hired him.
LaFeber is past president of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has also served on numerous scholarly editorial boards and the Advisory Committee to the Historical Division of the Department of State.
His The New Empire: An Interpretation of American Expansion, 1860-1898 (1963, 1998) received the Albert J. Beveridge Prize of the American Historical Association; Inevitable Revolutions: The United States in Central America (1984, 1992) received the Gustavus Meyers Prize, and The Clash: U.S.-Japanese Relations Throughout History (1997) received both the Bancroft Prize
in American History and the Ellis Hawley Prize of the Organization of American Historians
.
LaFeber examined the effect of modern sports and communication empires in his book, Michael Jordan and the New Global Capitalism (1999, 2002), which analyzes the rise in popularity of basketball
, Michael Jordan
, Nike
and cable satellite networks
and their relation to globalization
.
LaFeber is known for providing Williams
-like but more subtle and widely read revisionist histories of the Cold War in his books.
At the end of the Spring 2006 semester, LaFeber retired after forty-six years on the Cornell faculty. To mark the end of his career, he gave one final lecture on April 25 to an over 3,000 person gathering of former students, Cornell alumni, and colleagues at the Beacon Theater in New York City.
LaFeber and his wife Sandra have two children, Scott and Suzanne.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of History and a Stephen H. Weiss
Stephen H. Weiss
Stephen H. Weiss was an American investment banker, philanthropist, and former chairman of the Cornell University Board of Trustees....
Presidential Fellow in the Department of History
Cornell University Department of History
|- valign="top" ! style="border-top: solid 1px #aaaaaa;" | College | style="border-top: solid 1px #aaaaaa;" | Arts and Sciences |- valign="top" ! style="border-top: solid 1px #aaaaaa;" | Department Chair | style="border-top: solid 1px #aaaaaa;" | Barry Strauss...
at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. He is one of the United States' most distinguished historians, a revisionist
Historical revisionism
In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of orthodox views on evidence, motivations, and decision-making processes surrounding a historical event...
, of the nation's Foreign Relations.
The son of a grocer, he received his BA from Hanover College
Hanover College
Hanover College is a private liberal arts college, located in Hanover, Indiana, near the banks of the Ohio River. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church . The college was founded in 1827 by the Rev. John Finley Crowe, making it the oldest private college in Indiana. The Hanover...
in 1955, his MA from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1956 and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
in 1959, after which Cornell hired him.
LaFeber is past president of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has also served on numerous scholarly editorial boards and the Advisory Committee to the Historical Division of the Department of State.
His The New Empire: An Interpretation of American Expansion, 1860-1898 (1963, 1998) received the Albert J. Beveridge Prize of the American Historical Association; Inevitable Revolutions: The United States in Central America (1984, 1992) received the Gustavus Meyers Prize, and The Clash: U.S.-Japanese Relations Throughout History (1997) received both the Bancroft Prize
Bancroft Prize
The Bancroft Prize is awarded each year by the trustees of Columbia University for books about diplomacy or the history of the Americas. It was established in 1948 by a bequest from Frederic Bancroft...
in American History and the Ellis Hawley Prize of the Organization of American Historians
Organization of American Historians
The Organization of American Historians , formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S...
.
LaFeber examined the effect of modern sports and communication empires in his book, Michael Jordan and the New Global Capitalism (1999, 2002), which analyzes the rise in popularity of basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
, Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
and cable satellite networks
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
and their relation to globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
.
LaFeber is known for providing Williams
William Appleman Williams
William Appleman Williams was one of the 20th century's most prominent revisionist historians of American diplomacy, and has been called "the favorite historian of the Middle American New Left." He achieved the height of his influence while on the faculty of the Department of History at the...
-like but more subtle and widely read revisionist histories of the Cold War in his books.
At the end of the Spring 2006 semester, LaFeber retired after forty-six years on the Cornell faculty. To mark the end of his career, he gave one final lecture on April 25 to an over 3,000 person gathering of former students, Cornell alumni, and colleagues at the Beacon Theater in New York City.
LaFeber and his wife Sandra have two children, Scott and Suzanne.