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Office hours: Dr. Robert Harrison

Justin Bolger
The Commuter

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Dr. Robert Harrison

C: What do you teach here at LBCC?
RH: I teach history, humanities and political science.

C: What is your favorite time period to teach about?
RH: That’s a hard question because I like all the time periods that I teach, but I think I’d have to say ancient history: the time of the Mesopotamians, Egyptians and Greeks. Along with that I love the Civil War and the American Civil War period, but everything else is interesting too.

C: Why those ones specifically?
RH: I think the American Civil War because I grew up in the south and I had an ancestor that fought in the war. It’s just such an important part of our history. It’s when so many different directions came together. It’s a very sad, tragic part of the history of the country, but also very important. So I think the personal connection I’ve got, and just the fact that I see it as so crucial four-year period is the reason I find it a little more fascinating than other periods.

C: What sparked your passion for history?
RH: My parents were both into reading a lot. They both loved history, but they loved literature. My father taught geography at the college level for a long time, but he was interested in everything and so was my mom. So I think that was a major influence. They got me reading. They got me curious about everything including the past. I was gonna major in journalism in college, but that didn’t work out. I had a history professor who sparked a fascination in me about history. He was the one instructor I had who didn’t stand up and lecture the entire class. He sat on the table and he talked to us, and we were able to explore different ideas. At the end of the class, I’d have maybe three or four lines of notes, but who cares? It was interesting. He took us on field trips. He showed us connections that a lot of the other instructors didn’t. His name was Victor Peters, and he got me interested in switching my major to history, and it’s just remained fascinating ever since then.

C: What would you be doing if you weren’t teaching?
RH: I love politics and part of the reason I teach is to help prepare students to be better citizens. So I might be doing something politically. I don’t really have time to do too much of that, but with the Democracy Club that we have I try to help prepare students to be politically involved and educated. I’ve often thought I’d like to be a full time tour guide for these tour groups. We’re going to Greece in March with students, then to Italy. We’re going to Egypt next year. If it would pay me enough, I could see myself being a full-time tour guide, but I think it’s a part-time thing. So maybe I would like to write, but I’ve never gotten around to doing it. I’d like to write a historical novel. These are things I’ve thought about maybe for when I’m older and not teaching as much or not at all, that I might get into, but this is what I like to do. I still enjoy it. It’s fascinating so it consumes just about all of my attention.

C: So there’s no time outside of teaching?
RH: There’s a little. I mean, I have some hobbies, but you guys and your work is more than full-time. So it’s hard, you know. It’s hard for me to be as prepared as I want to be in class. To get you engaged in the class requires time. It requires reading what you write and working with you on things like this “Meeting of the Minds” [assignment]. If I were just gonna lecture and give multiple choice tests, I’d have more time to do other pursuits, but I wouldn’t get much out of it. I don’t think students would get what I want them to get out of it. It’s what I talk about. My wife teaches too. So what do we talk about? Teaching, students and politics. It’s not just a job. I like to do it. I like to come up here. I don’t ever feel like, “Oh my god, I gotta go teach today.” So I’m lucky. I feel very lucky that I enjoy it.

C: What’s your favorite music?
RH: I’m mostly into folk music and traditional music like Irish, music of the Civil War era, music of the Great Depression, but especially the folk music of the 50’s and 60’s. I like some rock, but it’s folk rock. I like songs that have a political or social message. I have pretty strong political views, and that kinda bleeds over into everything I do. I’ve listened to bits of country and bits of alternative, but if I had my ideal CD it would mostly be the great folk musicians. People like “Peter, Paul, and Mary,” “The Kingston Trio,” “Pete Seeker,” and those legends. Dr. Robert Harrison

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