Lou Roper, professor in the Department of History and a SUNY Distinguished Professor, appeared on the March 10, 2023, episode of WAMC’s nationally syndicated radio program “The Academic Minute,” to explain the history of slavery in America.
In his segment, “Making Slavery ‘Normal’ in English America,” Roper draws on his deep expertise in 17th century Atlantic history to examine how slavery was integrated in the earliest English colonies in the Americas.
“What might be termed a ‘slave rush’ ensued as an array of operators pursued the opportunity to acquire human beings as well as ivory and gold,” Roper says in the broadcast. “The potential profits … were worth the hazards to traders who gave no thought to the morality of what they were doing.”
Follow this link to read or listen to Lou Roper’s “Academic Minute” broadcast in its entirety.
Roper is a SUNY Distinguished Professor, the highest academic honor in the SUNY system, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the New York Academy of History. His teaching in the Department of History specializes in the areas of Early Modern England and Colonial American history.
A recipient of a SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship, he is the author or editor of multiple books related to his scholarship.
About “The Academic Minute”
“The Academic Minute” is an educationally focused radio segment produced by WAMC in Albany, New York, a National Public Radio member station. The show features an array of faculty from colleges and universities across the country discussing the unique, high-impact aspects of their research. The program airs every weekday and is run multiple times during the day on about 50 different member stations across the National Public Radio spectrum. For more information, visit http://academicminute.org/.
SUNY New Paltz faculty interested in appearing on “The Academic Minute” are invited to contact Associate Director of Media Relations Chrissie Williams at williamc@newpaltz.edu to learn more about the process.
