CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Austin Peay State University Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts will host author Aram Goudsouzian from 7-9 p.m. April 5 in Heydel Hall, located inside Austin Peay’s Art + Design Building. 

The evening is funded by the Roy Acuff Chair of Excellence and will feature Goudsouzian in a live reading, followed by a public Q&A session and a book signing. This event is free and open to the public, with light refreshments served. Copies of Goudsouzian’s books will be available for purchase.  

Goudsouzian is the Bizot Family Professor of History at the University of Memphis. His research includes 20th century American history, with a particular focus on race, politics and culture. Most of his books and articles have examined the era of the civil rights movement from a variety of angles, though his most recent book is on the presidential election of 1968, and he is pursuing some projects in U.S. sports history. 

During this reading and Q&A, Goudsouzian will discuss his collaboration with illustrator Bill Murray to create “Man on a Mission,” an illustrated graphic history of James Meredith, the first Black American to attend The University of Mississippi in the early 1960s during the Jim Crow era. 

For questions or more information about the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, visit www.apsu.edu/ceca or email Dr. Amy Wright at wrighta@apsu.edu.