 Faculty Profile: Don Buttrick
An Appreciation
Sadly, the History Department and CSUB lost one of its own last August when former professor Don Buttrick died suddenly of a heart attack at age 80. A Modern Europeanist who earned his three academic degrees from UC Berkeley, Don was particularly interested in the intellectual history of the French Revolution. After completing his PhD, he taught first at Kansas State University before taking a position at what is now Western Washington State University in Bellingham. He began teaching in Bakersfield in 1964 at the Fresno State Center on Mt. Vernon Ave., moving to CSUB’s current location when it opened in 1970, and retiring in 1988. (For more, click here.)
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 HISTORY FORUM
On October 26, the History Forum welcomed Professor Peter La Chapelle, of Nevada State College. Dr. La Chapelle (M.A., CSUB; PhD, USC) spoke on the evolution of "Okie Pride" from the late 1940s to the era of the Vietnam War. "Fightin'Sides: The Vietnam War, the Counterculture, and Merle Haggard's 'Okie from Muskogee'" provided an entertaining but serious look at Merle Haggard's iconic ballad of heartland conservatism in the midst of the anti-war movement of the late 1960s. Tracing Okie identity from the end of the Dust Bowl migration to the last years of the 20th century, La Chapelle made a compelling argument for understanding Haggard's song within the context of war and social upheaval. (For more, click here.)
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Professor Jim Meriwether in Kenya
Editor's note: After ten years at CSUB, Prof. Jim Meriwether is spending the year at the University of Nairobi in Kenya on a Fulbright Fellowship before he takes up a new position at CSU Channel Islands next fall. Below he shares some reflections on his experience in Kenya.
While I intended to let the department newsletter move forward without news of former professors far afield, Professor Vivian has a remarkable ability to cajole across vast distances. So, for those interested in some news from Kenya, read on.
Gods, Graves and Scholars: Click here to read a book review by one of our students, Jennifer Williams.
Overseas Adventure: Click here to read an interview with Nicole Carrasco, another one of our students, currently living in Moscow, Russia.
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HISTORY FORUM Spring 2008
May 2 at 3:30 pm in the Albertson Room
"The Gospel of Cesar Chavez: My Faith In Action"
Prof. Mario T. Garcia of UC Santa Barbara will speak about the new book he has edited, "The Gospel of Cesar Chavez: My Faith In Action," and will read selections from it. "The Gospel of Cesar Chavez" is a recently released collection of Cesar Chavez's reflections on a variety of spiritual topics, such as the power of faith, self-sacrifice, nonviolence, social justice, fasting, pilgrimage, and others. Edited and introduced by Prof. Garcia, this collection stresses the central importance of faith to an understanding of the life and career of Cesar Chavez, the great farm labor advocate and civil rights leader. Prof. Garcia contends that Chavez should also be seen as one of the great spiritual leaders of 20th-century America.
Live and do research in the Big Apple: Click here to read about an opportunity for students to take a five-week research program in New York City.
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