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Professor Profile: Dr. John Patterson
by Vicki Koon
"American Studies isn't just
history," said American Studies
Professor John Patterson in a recent
interview. "I really see it as an
interdisciplinary field."
Using Gettysburg as an
example, he enumerated. "You can look
at the relationship between popular
culture within the culture, and people's
informal memories. There is folklore,
and one could probably write a chapter
on Gettysburg folklore. Also, there has
been a lot of importance attached to
Gettysburg over the years. But it has
changed, we don't see it the same way as
people did 100 years ago. The meanings
that we take away from it are quite
different now."
"I think to be able to see that is
to be able to see American Studies in
action, and you can see it in a lot of
ways. There are a whole lot of
disciplines - ranging from planning, to
parks and recreation, to ancient studies,
to public policy, to literature, history,
art, and music - that converge. That is
what I think American Studies ought to
be. It can't be all those things always,
but I like to find places to see them
come together."
Patterson, a soft-spoken
professor in the Humanities Division,
received his master's degree in Folklore
and his doctorate degree in American
Studies at Brown University. "The
8:00am-10am
11:00am-1:30pm
2:oopm-4:3opm
s:OOpm-7:30 pm
8:00pm-10:30pm
Mon. 12/14
TIME
common/conflict
16,17 MW,
16A, 17A M
20,21 MW
18A, 19A M
MWF (Day)
Per Time
8--B:soam
9--9:soam
10-10:50am
11-11:50am
12-12:50pm
1-I:sopm
2-2:sopm
3-3:sopm
4-4:sopm
5-5:50
American Studies program which I went
through was basically history and
literature. So American Studies has
really developed as a field of study since
I went to school."
As an American Studies
professor, Patterson likes to look at
moments in history from a multitude of
angles. Different opinions and points of
reference give one a fuller view of
events. Some of Patterson's favorite
interests are popular culture, the
emergence of consumerism, and the
Tues. 12/15
16,17 TTH
16A, 17A TU
18, 19 TTH
18A, 19A TU
Schedule of Periods
TTH (Day)
8:00 - 9:lsam
9:30-10:45am
11:00-12:15pm
12:15- 2:oopm
2:00-3:15pm
3:30-4:45pm
Break
14
15
Capital Times
Final Examination Schedule
WED. 12/16
16A, 17A W
18,19 MW
18A, 19A W
M WITH (Evening)
Per Time
16 6:00 - 7:lspm
16A 6:00--8:30pm
17 6:30--7:45pm
17A 6:30--9: 00pm
18A 7:00-9:30pm
18 7:25-B:4opm
19A 7:30-10pm
19 7:55-9: lOpm
20 8:05-9:20pm
21 8:45-10pm
boundaries between mass culture and
traditions. Gettysburg, another favorite
interest of his, is a!so Patterson's main
topic of research.
When Patterson isn't teaching,
researching, or relaxing with his family,
he can be found on public radio station
WITF. He is the host of Stacked Chords,
a program that airs 8:00 to 10:00 p.m.
on Saturday. Patterson plays songs from
an extensive collection of folkmusic,
many times arranging the evening's
program around a certain theme. He
enjoys doing the program as much as he
enjoys the feedback he receives in letters
from listeners.
This spring, Patterson will be
teaching two courses. In The Civil War
and Reconstruction the causes of the. war
as well as some of its lingering effects
will be examined. In Twentieth Century
American History key events will be
looked at as pivitol points in our
history.
Registration Lines
a Continuing Problem
By Bernie Mixon
Many questions have been
raised concerning the efficiency of the
registration procedure occurring the two
Thur. 12/17
common/conflicet
16A, 17A,TH
20,21 TTH
18A, 19A TH
days prior to the beginning
this semester.
Dorothy Guy, r
addressed the qu tion in detai
Approximately
. 00 junio
admitted to Capital ollege for
fall semester. Of ese 600,
were admitted and cepted by
These 250 studen were eli
register in advan ce. The remai
students who were cepted after
were not sent in Unctions 1
registration.
The long lines for registration
were caused by two main factors: the
large number of students that were
unable to preregister because they hadn't
been accepted by June 15th, and the
Electrical Engineering Technology
students who were unable to preregister.
Plus there were some returning students
who did not take advantage of the
opportunity to preregister sometime
between March and nid-August.
While one might suggest that
added computer personnel would help
alleviate the problem, Guy feels that
they would not have the expertise and
knowledge needed to answer student's
specific questions.
In order to avoid a replay of
August 24th, Guy suggests that students
preregister. Pre-Registration begins
November 2nd and runs through
December 11th. It is open only to degree
students. All enrolled students should
receive the Spring Schedule of classes in
the mail by October 23rd. Copies will
also be available in the regsitrar's office.
Fri. 12/18
Saturday Only
9:00-11:30am
11:00--1:30pm
12:00--2:30pm
SAT. 12/19
common/conflict
common/conflict
t. 18, 1987
f classes
gistrar,
recently.
s were
the 1987
'Only 250
June 15.
Ohle to
king 350
June 15
or pre-