Richard Rapson


Richard L. Rapson is a professor of American history at the .

Background

Rapson earned his B.A. magna cum laude at Amherst College in June 1958, and served briefly there as an instructor in American Studies. He then taught history at Stanford University from 1961-1965 while pursuing his Ph.D. at Columbia University, granted in 1966. His dissertation was on The British Traveler in America, 1860-1935; his doctoral advisor was Richard Hofstadter.
In 1966, after teaching history at University of California at Santa Barbara, he moved to Hawaii, and has been on the faculty of the University of Hawaii system ever since. He has returned to Stanford as a Visiting Professor of History, 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 art college, New College, from 1968-1973.
Rapson has written many books and short stories. Some of these were written with his wife, Dr. Elaine Hatfield. He has one child, Dr. Kim Elizabeth Rapson.

Notable Publications

Co-Authored with Elaine Hatfield