Jacques Barzun
Jacques Barzun CC '27 PhD '32 is a cultural historian and was one of the great professors a Columbian could have in the mid-20th century. A distinguished Columbia alumnus, he ascended to the positions of University Professor and Provost over the course of his career. Born in France in 1907, Barzun is still alive, amazingly.
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Barzun as an undergrad
When he was an undergraduate, Barzun was president of Philo, drama critic for Spec, and editor of Varsity, a now-defunct literary magazine. He also wrote the 1928 Varsity Show, Zuleika, or the Sultan Insulted. According to classmates, he would type his Spec theatre reviews while still dressed in black tie and opera gloves. He graduated from Columbia College as valedictorian and Phi Beta Kappa, winning a Philolexian Prize and the Richard H. Fox prize to boot.
Academic career
Barzun was immediately made an instructor in the history department upon graduation, and worked as the research assistant of Carlton J.H. Hayes, a historian of nationalism. After completing his PhD dissertation in 1932, entitled "The French Race: Theories of Its Origins and Their Social and Political Implications Prior to the Revolution," which countered the myth that the French aristocracy had emerged from "pure, Germanic" blood, he became a full professor in 1945, earned the Seth Low Professor of History chair in 1960, and became a University Professor in 1967.
Core Curriculum pioneer
Barzun was also instrumental in the development of the Core, developing in 1932 a proto-Lit Hum class called the Colloquium on Important Books, which he would co-teach with Lionel Trilling. From 1946 to 1972 he co-taught, also with Trilling, the extremely popular graduate seminar "Historical Bases of English Literature", which was nearly developed into an interactive CBS television course.
Provostship
Barzun also served in a number of administrative posts, including Dean of Graduate Faculties and, from 1958 to 1967, Provost.
Columbia's graduation robes were changed from the traditional black to slate blue at Barzun's prompting, the newer color being more comfortable in warm weather, as is typical during Commencement. Barzun called this his "most revolutionary deed".
1968 protests
During the 1968 protests, Barzun was considered to represent an oasis of calm amidst the storm. He continued to reach out to all his students, despite their political sympathies, and insisted his seminars on European Intellectual History continue. When some students refused to cross picket lines to enter the seminar classroom in Philosophy Hall, he offered his spacious office in Low Library instead. During this time, Barzun was said to have instilled in his students the sense that the proper role of the academic was to be detached from political agitation.
Retirement
Barzun retired in 1975 and currently lives in San Antonio, Texas. He most recently wrote a mammoth 500 year history of the West entitled From Dawn To Decadence.
In 1994 he accepted an Alexander Hamilton Medal on behalf of the teachers of the Core Curriculum. On October 18, 2007, he received the 59th Great Teacher Award of the Society of Columbia Graduates in absentia.
External links
| Preceded by John A. Krout |
Provost 1958-1967 |
Succeeded by David B. Truman |
