Dr. Rudolph Binion: professor, mentor, psychohistorian.

Abstract

As the title of my paper indicates, Dr. Rudolph Binion was my professor, mentor, and a leading psychohistorian. My paper in memoriam to Rudolph Binion is intended as both a retrospective and an introspective account of my relationship with him, as he had a pivotal influence on me when he was my professor at Columbia University. His help and influence continued after I left graduate school. In my paper I also deal with the enormous stresses of navigating through graduate school, for those students whose goal was to earn the Ph.D. degree. Some examinations were dreaded, For Example The "Examination in Subjects," popularly called the "Oral Exam." The "incubation" period was long indeed, frequently averaging nearly ten years, and it was an ordeal, as the rate of attrition was very high. There is then also the question of "ego strength" and that of "transference" toward the professor. Graduate school is indeed a long and strenuous challenge. I took a seminar in modern French history, a requirement for the Master's degree with Professor Binion, which was consequential for me, as he taught me to be objective in writing history. Professor Binion was a demanding and outstanding teacher.