Canadian Slavonic Papers

Peter Brock: An AppreciationSource: Canadian Slavonic Papers / Revue Canadienne des Slavistes, Vol. 31, No. 2, Essays inHonour of Peter Brock (June, 1989), pp. 105-106Published by: Canadian Association of SlavistsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40869045 .

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Peter Brock: An Appreciation

In 1985, Professor Peter de B. Brock retired from his last academic posi- tion as Professor of History at the University of Toronto. In a scholarly career which began with his Ph.D. degree from Cracow's Jagiellonian Uni- versity in 1950, Peter Brock has produced nearly 150 books, articles and reviews in numerous fields. Although his historical interests began with the nineteenth century Polish peasant movement, he has produced works on pacifism, Ukrainian and Lusatian Sorbían nationalism, Caucasian diplomacy, and Gandhi.

Holder of two doctorates, from Cracow and Oxford, and recipient of the Guggenheim and Connaught Fellowships, Professor Brock also su- pervised ten Ph.D. dissertations in the course of his academic years. At Columbia University, he supervised the work of four successful doctoral candidates: Stanislaus Blejwas, John Kulczycki, Carole Rogel, and Harry Kenneth Rosenthal. At the University of Toronto, he provided East European history with six more doctorates: Kazimiera Cottam, Stanislaw Gotowacz, Peter Mifejovsky, Thomas Prymak, John Stanley and George Urbaniak.

It is an indication of Peter Brock's own wide interests, as well as of the freedom which he gave his doctoral students, that the list of doctoral theses includes not only seven Polish history dissertations but also Ph.D. theses in Czech, Slovene and Ukrainian history. Doctoral studies in History since the 1970s have sometimes seemed like an exercise in frustration; few of Professor Brock's Canadian students found a secure academic position. The collection of essays to hand demonstrates the respect in which Professor Brock's students nevertheless continue to hold him. It also serves as a sign of their memories of his efforts on their behalf and their respect for the firm principles which have guided his life and work with his students and colleagues.

This collection is made up of contributions from four students, two in the United States and two in Canada, and one colleague. That colleague, Professor Stanley Z. Pech at the University of British Columbia, was among the first to contribute an essay when he learned that a Festschrift was being planned for Professor Brock. While the direction for the collection has since changed, Professor Pech' s contribution turned out to be his last scholarly effort, made on behalf of an esteemed colleague.

The last issue of Canadian Slavonic Papers specially prepared in honour of a scholar was also presented to a Canadian historian of Poland, W.J. Rose, in 1960. Professor Brock contributed an article to that Festschrift (item

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106 I Canadian Slavonic Papers June 1989

#34 in the bibliography which follows) and it seems fitting that Canadian Slavicists should now in turn honour him thirty years later.

It seemed in the 1960s and 1970s that East European history had at last found a secure place in the Canadian university curriculum. The field's promise never was realised, however, as a result of recession and, more importantly, lack of vision. The outlook for East European history in the Canada of 2020, another thirty years in the future, is unclear.

Instead of building on the foundations constructed by scholars such as W.J. Rose and Peter Brock, universities have decided to push the field to the periphery, relying on local cultural communities to keep the field alive. Through their actions in the past decades, it is clear that many history depart- ments clearly regard "History" as primarily the domain of North America and a few nations in Western Europe. Events of the past months have re- vealed the inadequacy of this ethnocentric approach as events in Eastern Europe once again shape the planet's destiny, Unfortunately, they are hardly likely to dispel this peculiarly academic variety of tunnel vision.

The Special Editor of this issue of Canadian Slavonic Papers owes much to the contributors for the patience and understanding given so freely over the years since this Festschrift was originally planned. The courtesy and trust extended to me in the course of preparing this collection of essays are additional evidence of the continuing affection and esteem in which we all hold Professor Peter Brock, whose work and principles have guided us through our own scholarly careers.

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