Gregory D. Sumner is a professor of History at
University of Detroit Mercy
The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Cath ...
and the author of the books ''
Dwight Macdonald
Dwight Macdonald (March 24, 1906 – December 19, 1982) was an American writer, critic, philosopher, and activist. Macdonald was a member of the New York Intellectuals and editor of their leftist magazine '' Partisan Review'' for six years. He ...
'' and the ''
Politics
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
Circle,'' ''Unstuck in Time: A Journey Through
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...
's Life and Novels'', and ''Detroit in World War II''.
Early career
Sumner received his
Juris Doctor
A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
degree in 1980 from the
University of Michigan Law School
The University of Michigan Law School (branded as Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparati ...
and went on to practice as a corporate attorney at Bingham Summers Welsh & Spilman, Esq. in
Indianapolis
Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
Transition to history
Following his interests, Sumner went back to school and received his doctorate in American history from
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...
in 1992. He became an assistant professor at Grand Valley State University in
Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...
for one year before joining the history department at University of Detroit Mercy in 1993.
Sumner is co-chair of the UDM Department of History.
Awards and fellowships
* William J. Fulbright Lecturer at
University of Rome III in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
(2001 and 2010)
* National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Fellowship at City College of New York (1998)
* National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Fellowship at UCLA (1994)
Seven Stories Press, 2011
/ref>
Writings
Books
* ''Detroit in World War II'' ( History Press, 2015).
* ''Welcome to the Monkey House: The Special Edition'' (Random House
Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...
, 2014).
* ''Unstuck in Time: A Journey Through Kurt Vonnegut's Life and Works'' (Seven Stories Press
Seven Stories Press is an independent American publishing company. Based in New York City, the company was founded by Dan Simon in 1995, after establishing Four Walls Eight Windows in 1984 as an imprint at Writers and Readers, and then incorpor ...
, November 11, 2011)
* ''Dwight Macdonald and the Politics Circle: The Challenge of Cosmopolitan Democracy'' (Cornell University Press
The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University, an Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. It is currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, maki ...
, 1996)
Articles
*
Vonnegut's Firefighters
, thenewinquiry.com (September 11, 2011)
*
Slaughterhouse-Five at Forty", inthesetimes.com
(December 23, 2009)
* "Soldiers of Conscience", Peace Review (January–March 2009)
*
Planetary Citizen: Kurt Vonnegut, 1922-2007
, New Politics (Winter 2008)
*
The Gentleman from Indianapolis
, Indiana Magazine of History (September 2007)
* "No Easy Exit", ''Una Citta'' (Forli, November 2006)
* "Miasma of Trouble at the White House", ''Una Citta'' (2005)
* "Four More Years: Reflections on the 2004 Election", ''Una Citta'' (November 2004)
* "Dwight Macdonald," entry for Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers (2005, Thoemmes Press)
* "Iraq and the Tragic Lessons of Force," ''Una Citta'' (October 2003)
* "Notes on the Iraq War" ''Una Citta'' (May 2003)
* "Remembering an Expansive Decade", New Politics (Summer 1999)
* "The politics Circle and the Search for a Third Camp," in ''Twenty Four Ways of Looking at Mary McCarthy'' (Greenwood Press, 1996)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumner, Greg
American biographers
American male biographers
University of Michigan Law School alumni