NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Helmut Walser Smith, a major scholar of German
and European history, has been named the first Martha Rivers Ingram
Professor of History at Vanderbilt University.
The chair is made possible by a gift from Martha Rivers Ingram,
chairman of Vanderbilt University’s Board of Trust and chairman of
Nashville-based Ingram Industries. A nationally prominent
philanthropist and supporter of education and the arts, she established
the chair to support the liberal arts, and particularly history, which
in college was and today remains a passion of hers. "I am honored to be
named the Martha Rivers Ingram Chair in History," said Smith,
"especially given Mrs. Ingram’s scholarly interests."
Smith has taught and written extensively about modern European
history and relations between various religious and ethnic groups, such
as Protestants and Catholics, Christians and Jews, and Germans and
their neighbors. The author of German Nationalism and Religious
Conflict, published by Princeton in 1995, he has also edited a number
of books and written nearly 30 scholarly articles. His most recent
book, The Butcher’s Tale: Murder and Anti-Semitism in a German Town, is
written in the style of a murder mystery, but also serves as a
real-life case study that foreshadows the virulent spread of
anti-Semitism across Central Europe decades later.
Smith’s book, published by W.W. Norton in 2002, has been translated
into four languages and was honored with the Fraenkel Prize for the
best work in contemporary history. It was also named a Los Angeles
Times "Best Book of 2002," and it became a finalist for the National
Jewish Book Award. In Germany, it also received recognition as one of
the most innovative works of history in 2002.
"The Martha Rivers Ingram Chair provides well-deserved recognition
and support for Professor Smith, whose scholarship continues to gain
prominence," said Marshall Eakin, professor of history and department
chair. "In addition, the generosity of Mrs. Ingram brings greater
visibility to the Vanderbilt history department by helping us make a
significant commitment to his field of teaching and research."
Smith has taught undergraduate and graduate courses since he joined
the faculty in 1991, and in 1997 he received the Jeffrey Nordhaus Award
for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. He has also played an
important role in teaching about the Holocaust. Working with the Robert
Penn Warren Center for the Humanities, he co-directed and edited The
Holocaust and other Genocides: History, Representation, Ethics, a book
that has been distributed to high schools across Tennessee.
Smith is currently completing a work titled His Eyes Not Blue:
Seeing Race and Nation in the German Past. He has received numerous
grants, including fellowships from the NEH, Volkswagen Foundation,
German Academic Exchange Service and the Humboldt Foundation. He has
also recently been appointed a member of the American Academy in Berlin.
Media contact: Ann Marie Deer Owens, (615) 322-NEWS
Annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu