A native Oregonian, Pederson was born and raised in Eugene. After serving in the U.S. Army, he briefly worked at the U.S. Department of State and the National Institutes of Health. He accepted his first university faculty position in 1977, and became the holder of the first endowed chair at LSUS where he founded the only International Lincoln Center in the U.S. with its emphasis on Lincoln's legacy abroad. He began the first independent Washington Semester at a public university in the South, the first presidential conference series at LSUS, the only Constitutional Democracy lecture series and Abraham Lincoln lecture series in Louisiana. His books and articles deal with presidential leadership, and political revolts in a variety of prisons. He serves as the long-time executive director of the Association of Global South Studies and is the recipient of numerous local, state, national, and international teaching, research,, and service awards.
1. Abraham Lincoln's legacy abroad
2. Uprisings in prisons around the world
3. Lincoln's international legacy on postage stamps and coins
• “Shreveport’s International Lincoln Center,” North Louisiana History, Vol. 50, No. 1-2 (Winter-Spring 2019), 81-93.
• “Creation of an International Lincoln Center in the Deep South,” White House Studies, Vol. 2, No. 1 (2002), 63-70.
• “Lincoln Stamps in the Middle East,” American Philatelic News, Vol. 49, No. 243 (Jan-Mar, 2019), 13-17.
• “Lincoln Stamps in Asia,” American Philatelic News, Vol. 48, No. 241 (Jul-Sep, 2018), 8-13.
• “Lincoln’s International Legacy in 16 Postage Stamps,” Lincoln Herald, Vol. 121, No. 3-4 (Fall/Winter 2019), 76-95.
American Government Comparative Politics International Politics Political Theory/Western Political Thought Washington Semester American Studies
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