Richard L. Rapson (born March 8, 1937, in New York) is professor emeritus of American history at the

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Hawaiʻi system and houses the main offic ...

Background

Rapson earned his B.A. magna cum laude at

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

in June 1958, and served briefly there as an instructor in

American Studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, History of the United States, history, Society of the United States, society, and Culture of the Unit ...

. He then taught history at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

from 1961 to 1965 while pursuing his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, granted in 1966. His dissertation was on ''The British Traveler in America, 1860–1935''; his

doctoral advisor A doctoral advisor (also dissertation director, dissertation advisor; or doctoral supervisor) is a member of a university faculty whose role is to guide graduate students who are candidates for a doctorate, helping them select coursework, as well ...

was

Richard Hofstadter Richard Hofstadter (August 6, 1916October 24, 1970) was an American historian and public intellectual of the mid-20th century. Hofstadter was the DeWitt Clinton Professor of American History at Columbia University. Rejecting his earlier historic ...

. In 1966, after teaching history at

University of California at Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers college, UCSB joine ...

, he moved to Hawaii, and has been on the faculty of the

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

system ever since. He has returned to Stanford as a Visiting Professor of History (1973–74), and been a Visiting Professor of History four separate semesters on Semester at Sea, a University shipboard program that sails around the world. Rapson worked as a psychotherapist for 15 years, beginning in 1982. He was also named National Finalist for the Danforth Foundation's Distinguished Teaching Award, which honored the nation's best teachers. He founded and headed the University of Hawaii's experimental liberal arts college, New College, from 1968 to 1973. Rapson has written many books and short stories. Some of these were written with his wife, Dr.

Elaine Hatfield Elaine Hatfield (formerly also known as Elaine Walster) is an American social psychologist. She has been credited, alongside Ellen S. Berscheid, as the pioneer of the scientific study of love. She is employed as a professor in the psychology dep ...

. He has one child, Dr. Kim Elizabeth Rapson.

Notable publications

* (1968). Individualism and Conformity in the American Character. Lexington, Mass: D.C. Heath. * (1971). Britons View America: Travel Commentary, 1860–1935. Seattle: University of Washington Press. * (1971). The Cult of Youth in Middle-Class America. Lexington, Mass: D.C. Heath. 0669733873 * (1971). Major Interpretations of the American Past. New York: Irvington. * (1982). Denials of Doubt: An Interpretation of American History. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America. * (1980). Fairly Lucky You Live Hawaii! Cultural Pluralism in the 50th State. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America. * (1988). American Yearnings: Love, Money, and Endless Possibility. New York: XLibris. * (2003). Amazed by Life: Confessions of a Non-Religious Believer. New York: XLibris. * (2007). Magical Thinking and the Decline of America. New York: XLibris. ''Co-Authored with Elaine Hatfield'' * (1993). Love, sex, and intimacy: Their psychology, biology, and history. New York: HarperCollins. * (1994). Emotional contagion. New York: Cambridge University Press. * (1996/2005). Love and sex: Cross-cultural perspectives. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Reprint: Lanham, MD: University Press of America. . * (2020). What's Next in Love and Sex: Psychological and Cultural Perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press,

Interviews

* Heydeck, Elisabeth. "Erklär mir Liebe—Viel Lärm um Nichts?” ZDF (German Public Television) Science Documentary. 2011. * Miller, Lulu. "Entanglement." National Public Radio Invisibilia Series. January 30, 2015. * Roller, Emma. "Donald Trump's Unstoppable Virility." The New York Times. December 29, 2015. * Sex During Wartime: History Under the Covers – 9-part series (Sex in WWII: The Home Front and Sex in WWII: The European Front). The History Channel. 2002.

References

Arthur Goodfriend, ''The Life and Death of New College''. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1974.

External links

Amherst College Author

Richard Rapson, University of Hawai

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapson, Richard 20th-century American Jews Amherst College faculty Living people Stanford University Department of History faculty University of Hawaiʻi faculty 1937 births 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American Jews