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Robert E. May
Professor, Director of the History Honors Program, Department of History
Office: UNIV 025
Office Phone: (765) 494-4131
Office Fax: (765) 496-1755
Email: mayr@purdue.edu
Specialization: I specialize in mid-19th century U.S. history, especially the Mexican-American War and the Civil War, as well as the U.S. South and U.S. foreign relations. My research and teaching has focused, to no small degree, upon Civil War causation.
An expert on U.S. nineteenth-century "filibustering" (illegal private military expeditions against foreign countries), Professor May has written three books and many articles about the subject. His most recent book about filibustering, Manifest Destiny's Underworld (paper rpt.; University of North Carolina Press) was recognized as a "Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2003" and is being translated into Spanish. Professor May lectures widely on the subject, and in 2006 gave five presentations about filibustering in Costa Rica. Here at Purdue, Professor May is especially involved in the Undergraduate Honors Program at the university, college, and departmental levels. Currently, he is involved in a collaborative research project in late-nineteenth-century art history with his wife, a professor in the College of Education at Purdue. He is also a member of the Camp Tippecanoe Civil War Round Table.
