Office of the Provost | State University of New York at Fredonia
Recording the Complete Keyboard Works of J. S. Bach
Sabbatical Goals:
Fr. Duggan’s goal was to record as much of the complete corpus of Bach’s keyboard works on the piano as possible. The recordings were made at his alma mater, Loyola University of New Orleans, on the stage of Roussel Hall, using the university’s state-of-the-art recording equipment.
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
Fr. Duggan recorded approximately 15 CDs worth of music, including: The Art of Fugue; keyboard pieces from The Musical Offering; the 6 Partitas; the 6 English Suites; the 6 French Suites; The French Overture & Italian Concerto; the 7 Toccatas; 15 Inventions and 15 Sinfonias; various smaller pieces, including the 12 Little Preludes and the 6 Preludes for Beginners; the four Duets; and various larger works, including Fantasies and Fugues. The editing of these takes is expected to be completed by 2024. The best approach for packaging and distribution is still under consideration.
Father Sean Duggan
Professor, Music
Literature, Mourning and Political Subjectivity:
Virginia Woolf and Legacies of Antigone
Sabbatical Goals:
Dr. McVicker’s sabbatical project contributed to the department’s efforts to teach literature across cultures, engage in textual research, and help model these for students. The project broadly addressed a world in mourning in the wake of a global pandemic amid intensive political and social upheaval due to climate change, the ongoing legacies of racism and imperialism, and war.
There were two goals of Dr. McVicker’s sabbatical, (i) to explore how mourning offers a potentiality for transforming one’s relation to a political order based in a particular tradition of liberal humanism, and (ii) to demonstrate the relevance of work in contemporary interdisciplinary humanities. By rethinking the stakes of “community” through, for example, Virginia Woolf’s conceptualization of an “outsiders society” and the iterability of Antigone across cultural traditions and political struggles, the project offered a timely meditation on how to rebuild community ethically, across political and cultural divides, in the wake of mourning and loss.
This research provided a foundation for upcoming conference presentations, with a goal of publication. A related writing project, intertwined with the first in important ways, focused around Woolf’s exploration of these topics and her repeated allusions to Sophocles’ drama Antigone, a play that has a long history of its own. Dr. McVicker has taught this play in many course iterations as her scholarly focus on mourning and subjectivity has taken shape, through translation and global adaptations responding to some of the most urgent contemporary issues, including police killings of unarmed Black Americans, the apartheid struggle in South Africa, the war on terror, and the feminist reworking of law, family, and society. Writing a more pedagogically focused essay discussing how teaching Antigone can be used to help readers, particularly students, work through the politics of gender, race, and subjectivity—especially with regard to citizenship and the state, and how literature assists in the experience of mourning—comprised the second goal of her sabbatical work.
Sabbatical Accomplishments:
Dr. McVicker read approximately 75 books and a number of scholarly articles around these topics; and she successfully applied for and received a UUP-IDA grant that provided travel funds to
Dr. Jeanette McVicker Professor, English
support archival research. Dr. McVicker is grateful to UUP, the English Department’s MLW Fund for faculty development support that helped cover book expenses, and the Reed Library staff.
The intense reading and research yielded two presentations at the annual International Conference on Virginia Woolf: “Woolfian Ethics and Heterotopias,” delivered at the June 2022 conference (Lamar University, TX), and “‘Wonders are many, and none is more wonderful than man’: Repetitions of Antigone and Woolf’s Critique of Humanism” at the June 2023 conference (Florida Gulf Coast University). The 2022 paper, titled “Woolfian Ethics, Heterotopias, and Nonviolence,” has been accepted for the peer-reviewed Virginia Woolf and Ethics: Selected Papers from the 31st International Annual Conference on Virginia Woolf, ed. Amy Smith (Clemson University Press, forthcoming 2025). Dr. McVicker is currently working on developing the 2023 conference paper as a standalone essay that she hopes to submit for publication consideration in the year ahead.
The research informing these papers gave Dr. McVicker an opportunity to work more extensively with “heterotopias,” a theoretical concept she had successfully utilized for a peer-reviewed paper published in Summer 2022: “Archaeological Woolf: Prehistory, Heterotopias, and Envisioning the Future” in Woolf Studies Annual (New York: Pace UP: Vol. 28: 69-97. Ed. Benjamin Hagen). Developing this theoretical framework led her to submit an abstract for a paper addressing an adjacent topic, a special issue of the landmark feminist journal, WSQ: Women’s Studies Quarterly (New York: The Feminist Press), on the topic “Pandemoniums” (guest editors Tracey Jean Boisseau and Adrianna L. Ernstberger). In order to submit a proposal for this special issue, she successfully broadened the scope of her research to include contemporary feminist pedagogy and intellectual practice within the university. The resulting paper, “Contesting Post-Truth Chaos Through Interdisciplinary Heterotopias” was accepted for publication; the volume appeared in May 2024. In this essay, Dr. McVicker drew not only on her extensive research and teaching of Woolf and other feminist writers (e.g., Audre Lorde, Sara Ahmed, Bonnie Honig), but connected this work to contemporary feminist/gender theory and the critical role of interdisciplinary studies within the university.
The scholarly accomplishments achieved through this sabbatical, and through conference papers and publications since 2018 on the work of Virginia Woolf, further led to another rich, unanticipated opportunity: an invitation to contribute a chapter on “Woolf, philosophy and theory” for a forthcoming Routledge Companion to Virginia Woolf, edited by Benjamin Hagen, Shilo McGiff and Laci Mattison (forthcoming late 2025).
Literature, Mourning and Political Subjectivity: Virginia Woolf and Legacies of Antigone
Continued AY 2022-2023
Research Objectives in Ceramics
Sabbatical Goals:
Mr. Sadohara’s sabbatical extended his research into functional utilitarian ware and sculptural work. His primary objective during this time was to explore new directions in his work without interruptions, offering a rare chance to fully commit to his studio practice and research.
The sabbatical leave provided Mr. Sadohara with an uninterrupted opportunity for extensive research and studio practice. His plan included increasing production levels and developing an extensive body of work. He also applied for several residencies to enrich his research activities and gain inspiration from fellow residents. These interactions allowed him to discuss craftsmanship, articulate his creative impulses, and explore new dimensions in his work.
Mr. Sadohara’s professional research balances simultaneous exploration between highly functional utilitarian wares and figurative sculpture. Although his recent focus has been primarily on figurative work, he intended to start his leave by producing functional vessel work. This body of work was designed to address his struggle with universal artisan stereotypes that hierarchize material value. He planned to develop simplistic forms with rigorous alterations to challenge prevailing perceptions.
Past experiences demonstrated to Mr. Sadohara that working in environments outside his norm positively influences his approach to work. To facilitate this progress, he took advantage of a visiting artist opportunity at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA.
While continuing his studio practice for figurative work, Mr. Sadohara explored new ideas to develop during his sabbatical leave. He acknowledged that the scale of the projected work might exceed a year for completion, but this challenge motivated him to contemplate completing something previously deemed unthinkable. He aimed to deepen his technical and intuitive understanding of expressing the figurative form, focusing on skills and detailing techniques to enhance clarity and interest across different formats. Personal and meaningful elements were to be incorporated to convey profound intuition, exploring gestures, positions, and depth within the figurative narrative.
Associate Professor, Visual Arts & New Media
Mr. Hide Sadohara
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
Mr. Sadohara' pursued his research from his home studio. One focus of Mr. Sadohara’s research during this time was semi-abstract sculptural forms and functional vessels. He sought to explore the integration of emotion and personal experience in the creation of functional pottery and sculptural forms, investigating how these intangible elements can be translated into tangible forms through the medium of clay. His research methods and artistic exploration aimed to uncover the intricate connections between emotional experiences and the creation of pottery and sculptures.
By maintaining reflective logs, Mr. Sadohara examined the correlation between personal emotions and the creative process, translating emotions into tangible forms. He created a series of pottery pieces and semi-abstract/semi-figurative forms, identifying recurring themes, design elements, and techniques to convey the human condition. This work allowed him to formulate key theoretical elements for integration into his upper-level teaching methodology.
Another sabbatical focus was extensive experimentation with mid and low-range oxidation glazes. This work not only enhanced his personal exploration but also contributed to advancements in Fredonia's ceramics program. He tested over 200 glazes, introducing new varieties to the low-temperature glazes used in the Foundation in Clay course. Additionally, the challenges presented by escalating material costs and discontinuations required Mr. Sadohara to reformulate glazes essential for program courses.
Over the summer, Mr. Sadohara also experimented with unorthodox construction approaches, integrating different mediums into ceramic processes and breaking away from traditional pottery and ceramic sculpture. The ceramics courses now strongly encourage students to adopt cross-disciplinary approaches in their work, aligning with the department’s innovative teaching philosophy.
Research Objectives in Ceramics
Continued
AY 2022-2023
Building Bridges and Expanding Repertoire
Sabbatical Goals:
Dr. Seigel’s goals for this sabbatical were to build bridges and expand repertoire. His idea of bridge building was an effort to create connections with university colleagues nationally and regionally by both observing applied clarinet teaching and providing masterclasses. He also planned to connect with local music educators and their clarinet students.
Beyond observations and guest teaching, Dr. Seigel endeavored to expand the clarinet repertoire. He planned to focus on the unpublished works of Hungarian-American composer George Barati, finish some transcriptions of work for clarinet ensemble, and create an informal primer to assist his university students as they learn to play on auxiliary clarinets.
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
Dr. Seigel’s original plans to travel throughout the country did not manifest as planned because of funding issues at other institutions. Still, he traveled throughout New York and into Pennsylvania, observing lessons and presenting classes at SUNY Potsdam, Ithaca College, Nazareth University, and Lehigh University. These travels laid the foundations for a successful “Single Reed Day” at Fredonia in the fall of 2023 and planted the seeds for additional regional collaborations. Additionally, he connected with Chautauqua County music teachers to work with local students in Jamestown and set up future classes and clinics for local public schools.
Dr. Seigel’s efforts to expand the repertoire were fruitful. He was able to see four arrangements for clarinet ensemble through to publication by Alry Publications and Perfidia Publishing. A transcription was also published by Alea Publishing. He completed two additional clarinet ensemble arrangements for performance in Fall 2023. He was able to typeset five unpublished works of George Barati for clarinet and piano, as well as a work by Hungarian composer Rudolf Maros. For his Fredonia clarinet students, he created new editions of works by Klose and Stamitz, assembled a complete draft of a primer for auxiliary clarinets, and transcribed pedagogical works for Eb and bass clarinets.
Beyond teaching, publishing, and arranging, Dr. Seigel was also active as a performer, performing on-campus with his Fredonia colleagues at the inaugural Sorel Visiting Artist Concert in January.
Andrew Seigel Professor, Music
Dr.
In February, he collaborated in a chamber work by Buffalo composer and Fredonia teacher Caroline Mallonée and performed at recruiting events for the School of Music. As a member of the Buffalo Chamber Players, he performed Rob Deemer’s new soundtrack for the classic silent film “Safety Last!” in March. He closed the semester by playing in Buffalo Opera Unlimited’s presentations of two Menotti operas.
Building Bridges and Expanding Repertoire
Continued Spring 2023
The Impact of Experiential Learning on Success after Graduation
Sabbatical Goals:
Dr. McNamara’s sabbatical aimed to broaden her research program by examining how experiential learning impacts success after graduation. The research explored how young professionals defined success and how their experiences in and out of the classroom contributed to their success. She accomplished this objective by interviewing and facilitating focus groups with alumni. An additional goal was to gain insight into the skills needed by young professionals in the field, which has the potential to impact curriculum development. During the interviews, the following questions were consistently asked about students’ experiences at SUNY Fredonia: What three things define success for you? What experiences in the classroom facilitated your success in your career? What experiences outside of the classroom facilitated your success in your career? What should we be teaching the current students that will enhance their success?
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
Dr. McNamara interviewed over 35 alumni who had graduated in the last 15 years. Alumni were all employed successfully in organizations in California, South Carolina, Chicago, Boston, and the NYC area, as well as Upstate New York. Visits were made to alumni in Chicago, Boston, Long Island, Western NY, and NYC, allowing for more in-depth engagement.
The data is being woven into a book to capture the voice of alumni offering advice to high school and college students. Based on the preliminary data, alumni wholeheartedly shared that experiences in college that significantly impacted their current success were those that provided a hands-on opportunity to work on projects that reflected real-life challenges and actual projects where they worked with existing organizations. Alumni also offered feedback that the current curriculum should focus on developing students’ ability to work with people on teams, persuasively present ideas, and communicate effectively. Finally, alumni advocated for a focus on technologies of the future, such as digital tools, artificial intelligence, innovation, and problem-solving. All students interviewed were happy they went to SUNY Fredonia and felt prepared to enter the workforce.
Dr. Susan McNamara Professor, Business Administration
Integration of Flight Data Tracker with RTI Connext DDS
Sabbatical Goals:
Dr. Zubairi’s sabbatical focused on the integration of FDT, Connext, and VxWorks for real-time flight data transmission and analysis. Connext DDS (see https://www.rti.com/products) is a product of RTI (Real-Time Innovations), a company located in the silicon valley. Connext DDS provides a safe, secure, fault tolerant and fast solution for data transfer between nodes on a network. VxWorks is a real-time operating system (RTOS) used in embedded systems. It's designed by WindRiver (see https://www.windriver.com/products/vxworks ) and its goals are to provide a safe, secure, and reliable mission critical OS. VxWorks is used in the flight control computer of Boeing planes.
Dr. Zubairi had earlier completed an NSF Innovation Corps grant program in which he and his team interviewed over 100 aviation professionals about the flight data processing and usage in the industry. He also gave a presentation of FDT to the experts in NTSB, a federal government agency for transport accident investigations. The NTSB experts recommended that the FDT development should be focused on the small and regional jets. They stated that the majority of plane accidents happen to small planes and the investigation into those accidents becomes longer and more expensive due to the delay in accessing the flight data. Keeping in view the industry’s comments and suggestions and the guidance by NTSB, Dr. Zubairi decided to convert the FDT to a small, affordable, handheld, intelligent, plug’n’play device capable of storing all flight data parameters in local memory while streaming only selected parameters to the cloud for safekeeping. Since this device will have SBC (Single Board Computer), it is possible to process and interpret the flight data as it is received. This device may potentially generate alerts and warnings if any of the flight operational data parameters carry abnormal values.
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
Dr. Zubairi continued integrating FDT, Connext DDS, and VxWorks. The integration of Connext DDS with FDT was successful. It was tested with a couple of virtual machines where a virtual machine would transfer the test data to the other virtual machine by using the reliability and Quality of service (QoS) features of Connext DDS. However, Connext DDS requires a site license with maintenance support for $23K per year. This kind of expenditure was not possible without acquiring an external grant. The other platform VxWorks is a commercial product as well. It is
Dr.
Junaid Zubairi
Professor, Computer & Information Sciences
installed in many planes including the CCS (Common Core System) in Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Boeing 777X. Its site license ranges from $15K-$25K per year.We discovered compatibility issues of FDT with VxWorks. FDT was eventually removed from the proposed integrated module. Integrating FDT with RTI Connext DDS led to the design of a handheld portable FDT box. However, the implementation could not be completed due to lack of funding to support the acquisition of site license for Connext DDS, hardware boards with SBC and experimental black box with ARINC to USB adapter interface.
Dr. Zubairi established a smart city and IoT research group in the department of computer and information sciences. He defined a new research project for reactive congestion resolution in smart cities and developed an algorithm named CONRES for this purpose. CONRES works on the principle of moving the traffic away from heavily congested streets using CF (Congestion Factor) values. CF is defined as an empirical measure of congestion based on the volume and average speed of traffic through the city grid. He presented the results in a paper titled “Smart City Traffic Management for Reducing Congestion” at a conference in December 2022.
As a result of his work during the sabbatical leave, Dr. Zubairi published a conference article as the lead author in the 19th IEEE HONET-ICT Conference. He gave a presentation at the Fredonia Technology Incubator in Oct 2022. Dr. Zubairi also completed an online course on Python applications via Coursera and another online course on applications in machine learning through YouTube resources.
Integration of Flight Data Tracker with RTI Connext DDS
Continued Spring 2023
A Fanny Fern Reader
Sabbatical Goals:
As a scholar of nineteenth-century American women’s literature, Dr. VanDette is dedicated to restoring women writers to their proper place in literary history. Publishing new editions and reprints of women’s literature is a vital part of that recovery effort, and Dr. VanDette requested a Spring 2023 sabbatical in order to prepare such a book publication. Dr. VanDette’s proposed project focused on a nineteenth-century author who was the highest-paid and most famous newspaper contributor of her time, Fanny Fern. Dr. VanDette’s sabbatical goals included completing research, writing the introduction essay, and preparing the book for publication with a university press for a crossover scholarly/trade series or imprint.
In the middle of the nineteenth century, the highest-paid and arguably the most famous newspaper writer in the U.S. was a woman known to the public as Fanny Fern, the nom de plume of Sara Payson Willis. For most of the twentieth century, Fanny Fern’s legacy was lost to the male-centered literary canon. Fortunately, in recent decades, her writing has been restored to literary history through scholarly discussions, classrooms, and book publishing. Much of the focus of that recovery has been Fern’s best-selling novel, her semi-autobiographical roman à clef, Ruth Hall, published in 1854. Scholars have recently pointed to the need for more attention to the newspaper columns that made this author famous and were her most significant outlet for social commentary.
Most of Fanny Fern’s newspaper writing has been out of print since its publication in the nineteenth century, with only a handful of selections appearing in anthologies and websites. That absence hinders the recovery of this author, given that Fern’s fame and impact are largely connected to the blend of satire, sentiment, and social commentary she was known for in her columns for The New York Ledger A print collection highlighting this important facet of Fanny Fern’s writing career is long overdue. The main goal of Dr. VanDette’s sabbatical was to produce a collection of Fanny Fern’s newspaper columns that would bring the author’s legacy and her witty voice to life for modern audiences.
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
Dr. VanDette spent the sabbatical and the following summer completing her research, editing, writing, and revising, and submitted the manuscript for publication with SUNY Press. A Fanny Fern
Dr.
Emily VanDette Professor, English
Reader: Selections by a Pioneering 19th-Century Woman Journalist includes Dr. VanDette’s Introduction essay, which highlights the remarkable life story of the author and the reception of her newspaper writing. The Introduction also provides an overview of relevant historical contexts from 19th-century American culture, including gender roles, the newspaper business, and key topical and thematic issues Fern addressed throughout her career. A Fanny Fern Reader features a selection of columns spanning Fern’s entire career as a newspaper writer, 1853–1872. Fanny Fern’s newspaper writing remains highly readable, relevant, and entertaining to modern readers, and part of Dr. VanDette’s goal with this project was to expand the readership and audience for Fern today. To that end, the book was published by SUNY Press for a crossover market. It is available in print and digital formats, with a paperback edition of the book released in January 2025.
Dr. VanDette has already begun to use the research from her sabbatical in exciting ways in her teaching. She began her course, “Scribbling Women” (ENGL 313), in Fall 2024 with a unit devoted to the study of Fanny Fern’s journalistic writing as well as her impact and legacy, which established the major themes and historical contexts for the rest of the course.
A Fanny Fern Reader
Continued Spring 2023
International Academic Exchanges: Researching and Teaching Abroad
Sabbatical Goals:
Dr. Vassoler proposed a study of public policy initiatives to prepare urban centers to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis. Portugal was selected as the project's starting point, focusing on the sustainability plans developed by Lisbon's municipal government. Considering that 55% of the world's population resides in urban areas and that cities generate significant greenhouse emissions, Dr. Vassoler emphasized the importance of municipal governments' actions to prevent climate change disasters.
The second goal of the sabbatical proposal involved engaging in various professional development activities to strengthen Dr. Vassoler’s international scholar career and enhance teaching activities at SUNY Fredonia.
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
Working with colleagues at the Catholic University of Lisbon, Portugal, Dr. Vassoler developed the main topics and research questions to guide a dossier on resilient cities, which was planned for publication in subsequent months. In alignment with the sabbatical proposal, during the Fall Semester of 2022, Dr. Vassoler established a temporary residency in Lisbon, Portugal, to initiate the research and editorial project focusing on resilient cities and climate change. Collaborating with colleagues at the Catholic University of Lisbon and the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD), Dr. Vassoler collected information on cities, urban sustainability, and climate change in Portugal.
In Lisbon, Dr. Vassoler participated in several activities within the theme of resilient cities, including guest lecturing at the Catholic University of Portugal, Lisbon (Faculty of Human Sciences Division) on urbanization and urban sustainability; participating in the Luso-American Foundation for Development's Forum on International Education; contributing to a panel on integrating urban sustainability into study abroad programs, and establishing contacts with Lisbon's municipal government and gathering information on the European Union's initiatives towards resilient cities.
Dr. Ivani Vassoler
Professor, Politics and International Affairs
In addition to the editorial project, Dr. Vassoler engaged in other scholarly activities during her stay in Portugal. Meetings with faculty members at the Catholic University of Lisbon led to an invitation to teach a summer course in Portugal as part of SPiN -Study in Portugal Network. Representing SUNY Fredonia, Dr. Vassoler participated in a symposium on higher education organized by FLADthe Luso-American Foundation for Development, Lisbon, delivering two presentations in October 2022. Furthermore, in the Fall of 2022, Dr. Vassoler lectured at Sofia University in Bulgaria (International Relations Program), focusing on American Studies and the United States political system.
Dr. Vassoler's stay in Portugal, Bulgaria, and later Switzerland during the Fall of 2022 and Spring of 2023 and the scholarly projects in those countries significantly contributed to the Political Science and International Studies teaching activities at SUNY Fredonia. The academic and editorial projects and other educational activities align with SUNY Fredonia's goals of interdisciplinarity and internationalization.
During the second part of the sabbatical, Dr. Vassoler focused on several international scholarly projects, representing SUNY Fredonia in different academic settings and professional development activities that enhanced the international scholar career dedicated to teaching and learning.
A summar y of the activities includes:
● Lecturer: "Whither Brazil?" Transatlantic Forum, Toronto, Canada (online), April 24, 2023.
● Roundtable Discussant: The Political Economy of Latin American Cities-Brazil, Latin American Studies Association (LASA), International Conference (online), Vancouver, Canada, May 24-27, 2023.
● International Studies Association: Paper Presentation: "New International Order After the Russian Aggression on Ukraine," (in-person), ISA International Convention, Montreal, Canada, May 16-18, 2023.
● Guest Lecturer: BRICS: A Framework for South-South Cooperation, Webster University (in-person), Geneva, Switzerland, June 10, 2023.
● Presentation: The Political Economy of Brazil, McGill Community for Lifelong Learning, McGill University (online), Montreal, Canada, August 2, 2023.
● Completion of a Human Rights Consultant Certificate after a four-week human rights seminar (online) organized by the U.S. Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights, Washington, D.C., June 2023.
International Academic Exchanges: Researching and Teaching Abroad
Continued AY 2022-2023
● Completion of a nine-week workshop focusing on Open Educational Resources (OER) pedagogies, Lumen Circles, March-May 2023.
● Completion of a semester-long graduate course and receiving a TESOL graduate certificate in May 2023 (ESL Certified Teacher) from the International Program on English Language Teaching – Bridge Educational Group, Colorado, USA.
● Completion of a specialized four-week course on English as a Second Language Foundational Principles with a certificate from the University of Arizona, June 2023.
Dr. Vassoler described the sabbatical year as productive and rewarding and expressed gratitude to the State University of New York for providing this unique professional and personal growth opportunity.
International Academic Exchanges: Researching and Teaching Abroad
Continued AY 2022-2023
The Paul Klopfer Papers
Sabbatical Goals:
Dr. John Staples’ principal goal was to translate Paul Klopfer's letters to Robert Rie into English, and to study the history of Weimar Germany and the Bauhaus movement, with which Klopfer was associated. As part of the sabbatical, Dr. Staples planned to collaborate with the Fredonia’s Archives and Special Collections to create a public exhibition of the letters.
Dr. Staples sought funding to consult Klopfer’s personal papers, housed at the University of Stuttgart, and the correspondence between Klopfer and Walter Gropius in the Bauhaus-Archiv in Berlin. In the longer term, he intends to publish the translated letters, reproductions of the paintings, and an extended essay contextualizing them.
Sabbatical Accomplishment:
As German Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke once said, “No research plan survives first contact with the archives.” While this may not have been his exact wording, Dr. Staples found the sentiment accurate for his sabbatical research plan, which did not survive first contact with the archives.
Klopfer Project:
Dr. Staples initially planned to focus closely on the letters of Paul Klopfer, a German architect and anti-Nazi. The intention was to translate these letters in full, hoping to publish them alongside the watercolor paintings Klopfer adorned them with. Dr. Staples began the sabbatical by rereading the letters carefully and quickly realized that, while the best of them were fascinating, many were prosaic and not worth the effort of translation. In the end, Dr. Staples:
● Translated a handful of the letters and excerpts from others;
● Cataloged the entire set of letters;
● Wrote a biographical sketch of Klopfer’s life.
These efforts formed the basis of a public exhibit titled Stories from the Archives: Paul Klopfer, the Bauhaus, and the Nazis, produced by students and curated by Amanda Shepp and Dr. Staples in April 2024.
Robert Rie Project:
While working on Klopfer, Dr. Staples dedicated considerable effort to reviewing the papers of
Dr. John Staples Professor, History
Robert Rie, the recipient of Klopfer’s letters. This work yielded substantial discoveries. Though virtually unknown, Rie’s extensive correspondence and other papers proved highly significant.
Rie, a professor of German at Fredonia from 1964-1975, is mainly remembered for bringing the Stefan Zweig collection to Fredonia. However, his correspondence revealed him as a fascinating character in his own right. A Viennese Jew, Rie fled Austria on March 16, 1938, one week after the German annexation. In a detailed unpublished memoir, he documented his final days in Austria, his flight to France, and his immigration to the United States in December 1938. His letters and publications also detailed his struggles as an immigrant, his challenges in finding permanent work, and his unresolved bitterness and survivor’s guilt regarding the Holocaust.
During the sabbatical, Dr. Staples reviewed the entire 46-box collection of Rie’s papers and began translating the memoir and selected documents. Based on this material, Dr. Staples initiated a collaboration with Amanda Shepp on a “Life in Documents” project about Rie. One chapter has been completed, and a second is underway. The team has begun exploring possible publishers for the book, including SUNY’s OER program, and hopes to publish the book in time for Fredonia’s bicentennial.
Other Sabbatical Work:
Beyond these two projects, Dr. Staples used the sabbatical to complete one ongoing project and significantly advance another:
Dr. Staples finalized edits on the monograph Johann Cornies, the Mennonites, and Russian Colonialism in Southern Ukraine, corrected page proofs, and oversaw its indexing. The book was published in November 2023.
Dr. Staples wrote the introduction and completed editing the third and final volume of Transformation on the Southern Ukrainian Steppe: Letters and Papers of Johann Cornies. The volume is currently in production and is expected to be published in April 2025.
The Paul Klopfer Papers
Continued Spring 2023