Peter Rutkoff
Encyclopedia
Peter Rutkoff is Professor of American Studies at Kenyon College
and director of the Kenyon Academic Partnership.
He grew up in New York City
and attended Ethical Culture Fieldston School
. He received his bachelor's degree at St. Lawrence University
in 1964, and went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania
for his M.A. and Ph.D. He is a widely respected teacher and scholar, and a professor at Kenyon College.
With William Scott, a Kenyon colleague, he ran a humanities seminar on the migration of African Americans from the South to the North. They developed a classroom project which examines this Great Migration
. Students and faculty traveled to cities to study the impact of the migration. His course has attracted much grant support and is entitled “North by South: The Great African-American Migration, 1900-1960.” It includes two-week long field trips where students research archives, documents, and oral-history interviews in two different cities, one from the north and one from the south. The pairing of two cities, such as Memphis, Tennessee, and Chicago, Illinois, and Birmingham, Alabama, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, studies true migration patters of southern African Americans to the north. He and Scott discovered their own connections while researching for books on the arts scene in New York City. They wanted to allow the students to find their own connections.
Dr. Rutkoff helped to create the college’s interdisciplinary American studies program in 1990. He also directs the Kenyon Academic Partnership, in which talented high-school students are given courses arranged by high-school teachers and college professors to challenge them. He was the 1993 Professor of the Year State Winner for Ohio.
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...
and director of the Kenyon Academic Partnership.
He grew up in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and attended Ethical Culture Fieldston School
Ethical Culture Fieldston School
The Ethical Culture Fieldston School, known as "Fieldston", is a private "independent" school in New York City and a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. It has about 1600 students and a staff of 400 people , led by Dr. Damian J...
. He received his bachelor's degree at St. Lawrence University
St. Lawrence University
St. Lawrence University is a four-year liberal arts college located in the village of Canton in Saint Lawrence County, New York, United States. It has roughly 2300 undergraduate and 100 graduate students, about equally split between male and female....
in 1964, and went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
for his M.A. and Ph.D. He is a widely respected teacher and scholar, and a professor at Kenyon College.
With William Scott, a Kenyon colleague, he ran a humanities seminar on the migration of African Americans from the South to the North. They developed a classroom project which examines this Great Migration
Great Migration (African American)
The Great Migration was the movement of 6 million blacks out of the Southern United States to the Northeast, Midwest, and West from 1910 to 1970. Some historians differentiate between a Great Migration , numbering about 1.6 million migrants, and a Second Great Migration , in which 5 million or more...
. Students and faculty traveled to cities to study the impact of the migration. His course has attracted much grant support and is entitled “North by South: The Great African-American Migration, 1900-1960.” It includes two-week long field trips where students research archives, documents, and oral-history interviews in two different cities, one from the north and one from the south. The pairing of two cities, such as Memphis, Tennessee, and Chicago, Illinois, and Birmingham, Alabama, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, studies true migration patters of southern African Americans to the north. He and Scott discovered their own connections while researching for books on the arts scene in New York City. They wanted to allow the students to find their own connections.
Dr. Rutkoff helped to create the college’s interdisciplinary American studies program in 1990. He also directs the Kenyon Academic Partnership, in which talented high-school students are given courses arranged by high-school teachers and college professors to challenge them. He was the 1993 Professor of the Year State Winner for Ohio.
Publications
His books cover subjects such as the origins of Bebop, styles of baseball, and social theory in Europe and America. Some of his titles include:- New York Modern: The Arts and the City,
- Shadow Ball: A Novel of Baseball and Chicago, and
- Cooperstown Chronicles: Camp and Other Love Stories.