The Alexander Grass Humanities Institute will launch its fall 2025 programming with a special additional edition of Humanities in the Village, an event series dedicated to making scholarship publicly accessible.

This event features Marcus Rediker, author of most recently Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea. We’ll celebrate this new volume by hearing from the author about the project of the book, which provides a definitive, sweeping account of the Underground Railroad’s long-overlooked maritime origins. A leading scholar of maritime history, Rediker puts his command of archival research on full display in this luminous portrait of the Atlantic waterfront as a place of conspiracy, mutiny, and liberation. Freedom Ship is essential reading for anyone looking to understand the complete story of one of North America’s most significant historical moments.

We are delighted that Nadia Nurhussein and Harris Feinsod will join Rediker in conversation.

Order FREEDOM SHIP: THE UNCHARTED HISTORY OF ESCAPING SLAVERY BY SEA here

Marcus Rediker is Distinguished Professor of Atlantic History at the University of Pittsburgh. His “histories from below,” including The Slave Ship: A Human History, have won numerous awards, including the George Washington Book Prize, and have been translated into nineteen languages worldwide. He has produced a film, Ghosts of Amistad, with director Tony Buba, and written a play, The Return of Benjamin Lay, with playwright Naomi Wallace. His new book, “Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea,” will be published by Viking-Penguin May 2025.

Register here to attend!