UVa-Wise professors to appear on ‘With Good Reason’ May 13

Two professors with The University of Virginia’s College at Wise will appear on “With Good Reason,” a radio production of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, on May 13.

Professor of History Tom Costa has gathered more than 5,000 advertisements from newspapers published from 1736 through 1803 offering rewards for runaway slaves. Costa created a Web site for the advertisements to humanize the stories of the men and women by providing information about their physical appearance, clothing, skills, family relationships and information from the slave owners speculating on why the slaves ran away.

Michael Hunt, a teaching fellow of theater at UVa-Wise, will discuss John Brown’s assault on the Harper’s Ferry arsenal by looking at history as a form of theater. He will discuss Brown’s many years of planning or his “rehearsal” for the raid to free Virginia slaves as well as his “performance” during the assault, his trial and his subsequent hanging.

“With Good Reason” is aired locally on WVTF at 7:30 p.m. each Wednesday. Costa and Hunt will be featured during the May 13 broadcast. The broadcast also may be downloaded at the “With Good Reason” Web site at www.withgoodreasonradio.org.

"With Good Reason” is broadcast on 10 public radio stations in Virginia, Tennessee and Washington, D.C. For complete listings of shows and times, visit the program's Web site at www.withgoodreasonradio.org.

For additional information, contact the Office of College Relations at 276-328-0130.

                                                                                                     Posted May 5, 2009