Olin Professor Emeritus of English and American Studies at Wesleyan University, Richard Slotkin is a preeminent cultural historian and critic. His award winning trilogy on the myth of the frontier, which includes Regeneration Through Violence, The Fatal Environment, and Gunfighter Nation chronicles the mythologies of the West and the connection between the American national experience and violence. Slotkin has published a number of additional works of fiction and history, including his most recent book, The Long Road to Antietam.
Slotkin graduated from Brooklyn College, received his Ph.D. in American Civilization from Brown University and started teaching at Wesleyan University in 1966. During his time at Wesleyan he helped to establish both the American studies and the film studies programs. Slotkin has won several awards in recognition of his contributions to the field of American studies. He currently lives in Connecticut, where he continues to write and consult on projects dealing with violence, popular culture and Western America.
