Greenberg Distinguished Scholar Program

William Cronon

William Cronon, Frederick Jackson Turner and Vilas Research Professor of History, Geography, and Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is Reed’s 2013 Greenberg Scholar. Cronon studies American environmental history and the history of the American West. His research seeks to understand the history of human interactions with the natural world—how we depend on the ecosystems around us to sustain our material lives, how we modify the landscapes in which we live and work, and how our ideas of nature shape our relationships with the world around us.

Lecture
fallen brick photo

Fallen Brick Chimney, Sand Island, Wisconsin, by William Cronon

Wednesday, April 17, 2013
William Cronon, “The Riddle of Sustainability: A Surprisingly Short History of the Future”
6 p.m., Vollum lecture hall
Pre-lecture reception:
5:15 p.m., Vollum lounge

Lecture
Oregon City painting

Oregon City on the Willamette River, ca. 1850-1852, by John Mix Stanley (Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas)

Thursday, April 18, 2013
William Cronon, “Landscapes of Frontier Change: Narratives of Environmental Change in the Art of the American West”
4:30 p.m., Vollum lecture hall

Established on the occasion of Reed’s centennial with a gift from Dan Greenberg and his wife and philanthropic partner Susan Steinhauser, the Greenberg Distinguished Scholar Program aims to bring visiting scholars to campus to stimulate and support the work of students and provide faculty with the opportunity for in-depth intellectual exchange with a prominent member in their field.