I'm not up for many words right now. Some details, here.

Labels: elle, howard zinn, Obituary

It is my sad duty to report the passing of one of our longtime contributors, John Russell, aka Bastoche. His longtime struggle with cancer ended Saturday morning after visits from close colleagues, friends, and students.

He will be missed. His writings here included two long-time series--"Cowboy Nation" and "History and the Kagans: Paradise and Power."

As many know, it takes a great deal of commitment in order to post regularly to a blog. It takes even more to post a regular series. To publish a pair of them--the rough equivalent of a couple of journal articles in length--speaks to John's commitment to, and passion for, advocating for progressive causes and subjects.

Inasmuch as John was a committed progressive, he was also an extremely gifted writer. Nowhere was this on greater display than in his essay "Our Window of Opportunity," in which a flowing narrative served as the backdrop for a sharp, insightful examination of the meaning of the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

John also contributed to Daily Kos. He will be missed.

The announcement read as follows:

Dr. John Russell, Senior Professor in the English/Fine Arts/Modern Languages Department, passed away early this morning, after a long illness.

Friends may call at Dooley's Funeral Home, 218 North Avenue, W., Cranford, on Monday, December 7 from 2:00 - 4:00 pm, and from 7:00 - 9:00 pm.

The funeral service will be held on Tuesday, December 8 at 10:00 am, also at Dooley's, followed by internment at Fairview Cemetery, Westfield.

The family has asked that donations be made, in lieu of flowers, to the Cancer Research Institute, One Exchange Plaza, 55 Broadway, Suite 1802, New York, NY 10006, in the name of John Joseph Russell.

A valued and long serving member of the ENG/FIA/ML Dept., he will be missed by his colleagues, students and friends.

Prof. Robert Comeau
Coordinator of Credit English

Labels: AndrewMC, Bastoche, Obituary

Late Tuesday night the noted Asianist Ron Takaki passed away. You can find a full remembrance here.

We are now, unfortunately, entering a period where some of the great luminaries of the New Left have begun to die. Among those who influenced me, two years ago Elizabeth Fox-Genovese passed away. A few months later one of my MA advisers, Roy Rosenzweig, succumbed to cancer. Then John Hope Franklin died in March. Now Ron Takeki.



I'm not going to get into a lengthy post, except to quote a bit from AsianWeek.

To be remember in this way would be nice enough for most:

Ron Takaki was one of the most preeminent scholars of our nation’s diversity, and considered “the father” of multicultural studies. As an academic, historian, ethnographer and author, his work helped dispel stereotypes of Asian Americans.

but I think the following gets at the heart of what we do as historians and teachers:

As a Professor, Takaki hoped that his students would learn that skills of critical thinking and effective writing could be used in a revolutionary way. Epistemology, critical thinking, or in Takaki’s words “how do you know, you know, what you know about the America and the world you live in?” was a question Takaki posed to his students to challenge the way they looked at history, current policies, and even life.

Use this as an open thread.

Labels: AndrewMC, Obituary, Ron Takaki

The news that prominent historian John Hope Franklin has died fills me with a great deal of sadness.

John Hope was my intellectual "grandfather." That is, he was my MA thesis adviser's adviser. I wouldn't say I knew him well, but we knew each other well enough that we'd had a few meals together and always exchanged a few words at conferences. He was one of two people--the other being historian Paul Conkin--who shaped how I see myself professionally as a historian.

In the next few days there will be an outpouring of essays and obituaries honoring the man who blazed so many paths for African Americans and for historians. But I want to share three small experiences that I will always remember.




John Hope was a "larger-than-life" historian. Many will laugh, but in the historical profession, John Hope was a rock star. He attended two of the same professional conferences that I regularly frequent--the Southern Historical Association and the American Historical Association. At annual meetings he was always mobbed. There would be throngs of historians coming up to say hello, a sort of "kiss-the ring" moment.

And John Hope always took the time to stop and talk to them. Always. Regardless of what he was doing, this famous person, famous historian, always took some time to give some words of encouragement to the newer generation of historians.

Not everyone is like that. I remember one conference when I was a graduate student. I had approached a historian--let's call hir Professor Doe--whose work I greatly admired. I walked up to hir and said "Ah, hello, Professor Doe. My name is AndrewMc, I'm a graduate student. I've read your [well-known book] and really enjoyed it. It's really shaped how I think about the subject."

Professor Doe looked at me as if I were a bug and said [with no small amount of scorn] "That's nice," and walked away. OK, whatever. Grad students can be a pain in the butt. Historians can have big egos. I didn't take it personally.

For John Hope, though, there was always time to speak to everyone. Around the time he got the Presidential Medal of Freedom I asked him about this. I said "You know, you can hardly make it across a room without getting mobbed. And yet you always take time to speak to everyone. How do you have the patience?"

Here was what he told me.

Decades ago, he was the second African American ever to enter graduate school at Harvard University. The first was WEB DuBois. One day John Hope was on campus--I believe it was the library--and he saw DuBois at a table, working. So he went over to speak to him. John Hope walked over (nervously, as he described it) to DuBois and said "Um, hello Mr. DuBois. My name is John Hope Franklin. You were the first black grad student at Harvard. I'm the second." He said that DuBois never looked up to acknowledge him, mumbled something, and then ignored him.

John Hope told me that at that moment he decided that he would never ignore anyone, especially grad students, who wanted or needed a moment of his time. And there were many conferences where I saw that vow in action. As I said, he was always mobbed, and always patient.

I thought that was a great story, and a great example of professionalism on the part of John Hope Franklin. Always take time to talk to people. Never let your ego get in the way of your encounters. My work in the professional is minor, and not well known. But John Hope's example is one that I hope I can always follow.


At another conference after my experience with Professor Doe, I happened to be speaking with John Hope and my adviser when Professor Doe [hirself a prominent historian] walked up to our group. In what was exactly the same nervous voice I had probably had when I spoke to Doe, sie said to John Hope "Um, Professor Franklin? My name is Professor Doe. I'm a great admirer of your work, and you've been a huge influence on me."

John Hope broke out in a huge smile. "Professor Doe! Great to meet you! I really enjoy your writing. Your book is wonderful." And then John Hope introduced Professor Doe to the two of us standing with him. Priceless.

When I think of John Hope Franklin what comes to me aren't all the books, or the trailblazing Civil Rights work, or the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I think of a very famous guy who always had time to give. That's how I'll remember him.

Labels: AndrewMC, John Hope Franklin, Obituary