Lawrence S. Wittner is an award-winning American historian, writer, and activist for peace and social justice.
He attended Columbia College, the University of Wisconsin, and Columbia University, where he received his Ph.D. in History. Thereafter, he taught at Hampton Institute, at Vassar College, and—under the Fulbright program—at Japanese universities. In 1974, he began teaching at the State University of New York/Albany, where he rose to the rank of Professor of History before his retirement in 2010.
Professor Wittner is the author or editor of thirteen books and the writer of over 250 published articles and book reviews, mostly on issues of peace, war, and international relations. He is also a former editor of Peace & Change, a journal of peace research. His scholarship was honored with prizes from the Peace History Society and from the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations. In addition, he has received the New York State/United University Professions Excellence Award for scholarship, teaching, and service and the Peace History Society's Lifetime Achievement Award.
A sought-after speaker, Professor Wittner has given lectures in seventeen nations. This includes talks at the Norwegian Nobel Institute, at the United Nations, and on dozens of college and university campuses. In addition, he is interviewed occasionally on radio and television programs. He also has written numerous Op-Ed pieces that have appeared in newspapers and on-line publications.
For over a half century, Professor Wittner has participated in the racial equality, labor, and peace movements. He was an early civil rights and anti-apartheid activist and has served for decades as an elected leader of United University Professions (the SUNY faculty-professional staff union affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers). Numerous organizations have presented awards to him for his activism. Currently, he is co-chair of the Peace Action national board and a member of the executive committee of the Albany County Central Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. On occasion, he performs vocally and on the banjo with the Solidarity Singers.
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