Hampshire College

Michael Lesy, professor of literary journalism, received a B.A. in theoretical sociology at Columbia University, an M.A. in American social history at the University of Wisconsin, and a Ph.D. in American cultural history at Rutgers University.

He has published eleven books of history, biography, and narrative nonfiction. Many of his books have been based on historic photographs, gathered in archives; several have been based on oral histories, gathered during fieldwork. Professor Lesy’s first book, Wisconsin Death Trip, has remained in print since 1973. Professor Lesy’s most recent book, Murder City (2007), grew out of a Hampshire College tutorial.

Professor Lesy’s books have been made into operas, plays, dance performances, and films. In 2007, the United States Artists Foundation named Professor Lesy its first Simon Fellow.

Leave Info
Professor Lesy will be on sabbatical leave in fall 2013.

Affiliations
School for Interdisciplinary Arts

Recent Courses
IA-0236: The Practice of Literary Journalism (Spring 2013)
IA-0264: The Past Recaptured:Photographs,Facts,and Fiction,1935-1943 (Spring 2013)
IA-0236: The Practice of Literary Journalism (Fall 2012)
IA-0276: The Past Recaptured: Photographs, Facts and Fictions 1890- (Fall 2012)