[Oral History Program interview with John Barker, 2008]

Author / Creator

Barker, John, interviewee

Available as

Physical

Summary

Abstract: In his five November/December 2008 interviews with Bob Lange, John Barker reflects on his four-decade career in Byzantine history and music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He revi...

Abstract: In his five November/December 2008 interviews with Bob Lange, John Barker reflects on his four-decade career in Byzantine history and music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He reviews the early influences on his interest in Byzantium, including his father, Brooklyn College professors, and advisor Peter Charanis. He simultaneously recounts his growing involvement in classical music collecting and reviewing. Recalling his tenure at UW, Barker also offers observations about major history faculty during his early career, his significant contributions to historical research, and his reflections on the administration of the university. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the UW-Madison Oral History Program.

Key Words: Brooklyn; the Depression; family history; Brooklyn College; Peter Charanis; Alexander Alexandrovich Vasiliev; Rutgers University; Dumbarton Oaks; Michael Petrovich; University of Wisconsin-Madison; Integrated Liberal Studies (ILS); Robert Reynolds; Merle Curti; Gaines Post; Charles Edson; George Mosse; the 1960s; Ralph Hanson; Dow riot; William Hesseltine; Ralph Hanson; E. David Cronon; Sterling Hall bombing; tenure; teaching; Fred Harvey Harrington; the 1973 UW System merger; Robben Fleming; David Ward; John Wiley; Donna Shalala; Brenda Gayle Plummer; Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR); Isthmus; School of Music; Pro Arte Quartet; Jack Mitchell; opera; Institute for Research in the Humanities.

Show More