Rider University American Studies

So it appears, once again, that the Rider Administration has again put AMS on the chopping block. Sadly, I am fairly certain they will succeed this time. During it's heyday, AMS was fortunate to have Jack Sullivan at the helm. It was his leadership that attracted some of Rider's best and brightest students and faculty. It was Jack's leadership that saved this program during this administration's first attempt to eliminate AMS. Unfortunately, the leadership of AMS at this point has let the program collapse, preferring a hands off approach, and as such lacks the strength or even the will to turn the tide. That said, AMS and the legacy created by Jack Sullivan and the all star faculty he recruited to teach the most interesting courses on campus will live on in our collective memories. Maybe some of those courses will live on in other departments. Do you have an AMS memory to share? I would love to hear them.

Some years ago, during what can now be referred to as the golden era if AMS at Rider I created a course for AMS 200 that revolved around the idea of quest. That course featured readings that involved Americans on the road, Hemingway, Kerouac and others. While that course hasn't been offered in several years the works, like the road never ends. For those interested that type of thing I offer this Wonderful journey along the back roads of America. I hope you enjoy it as I have. Blue Highways, by William Least Heat-Moon.

Gearing up for Radicalism, summer I, online. There's still time to register for this timely class!

https://www.facebook.com/335356679992281/posts/1566196560241614/

We are sad to announce that Lawrence Ferlinghetti, distinguished American poet, artist, and founder of City Lights Booksellers and Publishers, has died in San Francisco, California. He was 101 years old.

Ferlinghetti was instrumental in democratizing American literature by creating (with Peter D. Martin) the country’s first all-paperback bookstore in 1953, jumpstarting a movement to make diverse and inexpensive quality books widely available. He envisioned the bookstore as a “Literary Meeting Place,” where writers and readers could congregate to shares ideas about poetry, fiction, politics, and the arts. Two years later, in 1955, he launched City Lights Publishers with the objective of stirring an “international dissident ferment.” His inaugural edition was the first volume of the City Lights Pocket Poets Series, which proved to be a seminal force in shaping American poetry.

Ferlinghetti is the author of one of the best-selling poetry books of all time, A Coney Island of the Mind, among many other works. He continued to write and publish new work up until he was 100 years old, and his work has earned him a place in the American canon.

For over sixty years, those of us who have worked with him at City Lights have been inspired by his knowledge and love of literature, his courage in defense of the right to freedom of expression, and his vital role as an American cultural ambassador. His curiosity was unbounded and his enthusiasm was infectious, and we will miss him greatly.

We intend to build on Ferlinghetti’s vision and honor his memory by sustaining City Lights into the future as a center for open intellectual inquiry and commitment to literary culture and progressive politics. Though we mourn his passing, we celebrate his many contributions and give thanks for all the years we were able to work by his side.

We love you, Lawrence. 💖

- Staff at City Lights Booksellers & Publishers

Radicalism coming summer 2021 Online course

Jump into AMS338 Social Impact of Rock and Roll online spring 2021!

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Social Impact of Rock and Roll is coming this spring! This course has been summer session only for many years. Don't miss this opportunity to take part in this course during the spring semester!

Welcome back! A new semester always brings a certain excitement! Don't forget to check out out spring 2021 offerings!

There is still time to jump into AMS Summer II! Social Impact of Rock and Roll is a look at the sound of the 20th century from it's origins in the Mississippi Delta to stadiums around the World.
AMS 304 is a look at the role of technology from the importance of the light bulb to the super computer I'm making this post on! This is not a boring science class but rather a look at our reliance on technology we do not even think of!
Jump In!

Okay, so it's official, all summer classes will be held online! AMS pop culture, AMS social impact of Rock and roll and science and technology in America. All-night of these courses will he self paced! Film and media based ! Watch films, listen to music get credits?! How easy is that! Jump In!

Keep City Lights Books Alive! - spread the word - City Lights in San Francisco launches a gofundme fund-raiser - https://www.gofundme.com/f/aeany-keep-city-lights-books-alive

What's more American than summer and Rock and Roll music?
Social Impact of Rock and Roll is going online Summer 2! This course will now be offered 100% on line. Listen to some great music from anywhere on Earth! A great course that is sure to be a ton of fun!

Social Impact of Rock and Roll! Summer II

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Okay AMS course selection is coming up. Make sure you check out the summer offerings for AMS including AMS 229 Pop Culture online as well as ANS 304 also on line. We have some great in person offerings as well! Summer is the perfect time to catch up or get ahead. Don't miss out!

Welcome Back AMS Major's, Minors Friends! There is plenty of excitement around AMS this year. We have a new Chair in Mickey Hess, a fresh enthusiasm, and some wonderful new classes including American Road Trip, debuting Spring semester. Have a great semester and spread the word!

Tonight is the first night of Social Impact of Rock and Roll! We will start at the Crossroads and see where we end up!

Let's get signed up for AMS 304 an online offering, summer I. An entertaining and thought provoking look at technology and how we humans interact with it. A good time will be had by all!

The Beat Goes On by Barry Miles A century of Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

Summer 2019 has some amazing opportunities. Check out AMS304 an online offering for summer I and Social Impact of Rock and Roll summer session II. This course is only available in the summer and is an unforgettable experience. See you there!

For many years the Fall AMS 200 class has been a journey across the United States with the likes of Kerouac and Chris McCandless, Cormac McCarthy and other tales of the road. This year fate has put us on a different path. For those of you who have taken this version of the course and for those of you on your own journey I offer you this,
https://youtu.be/DtJHGb5923Y

My Only True Friend (OFFICIAL VIDEO) | Gregg Allman - Southern Blood My Only True Friend is written by Gregg Allman and Scott Sharrard Pre-order now: GA Store: http://found.ee/GASouthernBloodD2C Amazon: http://found.ee/GASouth...

"I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one."
—Henry David Thoreau in the “Conclusion” chapter of Walden; he left his cabin on this day in 1847, after two years, two months and two days there

Thoreau goes on to reflect that his life in the woods had grown customary, his adventure in danger of becoming “the ruts of tradition and conformity.” He went to the woods as a traveler to a voyage, and he had sought the best berth: “I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I could best see the moonlight amid the mountains.” He left the woods in the same spirit in which he arrived — “I do not wish to go below now” — and so should we, travelers all:

"Be rather the Mungo Park, the Lewis and Clark and Frobisher of your own streams and oceans; explore your own higher latitudes — with shiploads of preserved meats to support you, if they be necessary; and pile the empty cans sky-high for a sign. Were preserved meats invented to preserve meat merely? Nay, be a Columbus to whole new continents and worlds within you, opening new channels, not of trade, but of thought."

Source: http://www.todayinliterature.com/

An Illustrated Guide to Jack Kerouac's On the Road, 60 Years Later On the 60th anniversary of Jack Kerouac's On the Road, we're taking an illustrated look back at its major players, from Allen Ginsberg to Neal Cassady.

Today is the day. Will he agree to extend the existing contract and continue negotiations with the AAUP? Will he agree to interest arbitration? Or will he continue to hold the entire Rider community hostage and further damage our beloved institution?

In the new strategic plan just approved by the Rider Board of Trustees, the Administration points to the need for $3 to $4 million in savings by 2019 necessary for the fiscal health of Rider. Currently the administration is demanding $9 million dollars worth of concessions from the AAUP, and they are willing to jeopardize the quality of your education to get it. This is just another example of the poor leadership the Administration has demonstrated over the last 2 years.

On July 18th President Dell'Omo Admonished the AAUP for communications that questioned the honesty and capability of Rider's financial leadership. In June of 2016 that financial team projected a $14 million deficit for 2017, then subsequently reduced that projection to $6 million, it now appears that Rider will actually finish 2017 with a cash surplus! He continues to have full confidence in the projections of his financial team because without the illusion of the impending financial demise of the university there would be no justification for his unprecedented attacks on the AAUP.

The Administrations promise: to disrespect the people that are the lifeblood of this institution on every occasion they possibly can.

After Convocation was over, the AAUP membership left the room. President Dell'Omo said, "Oh, now we can really talk!" and laughed. This was followed by applause by the administrators in the room. This shows his true colors. Even after all of his warm and fuzzy talk about communicating and working together, he really has no respect for the people that educate the students. Is this really the type of leadership that Rider needs at this time? Does the Board of Trustees understand this is the leadership that they continue to fully support?

Rider University American Studies updated their phone number.

The Administration has made it clear that they will not negotiate with the AAUP after August 31st. What happens if there is not an agreement at that time? President Dell'Omo and Rob Stoto have made it clear the the Admin intends to replace AAUP members with scabs. Let the Administration know about how you feel about scabs taking over the duties of AAUP members. Are you paying to be educated by scabs?

What does the Administration mean by "Structural Change"? What does the Administration mean by "Structural Change"? August 7, 2017 The administration has repeatedly insisted they need to change the structure of the institution . The term "structural...

Between 2004 and 2014, Rider President Rozanski's total compensation increased 81 percent -- to $806,847, according to university filings with the IRS. Compensation for Rozanski included wages, benefits and use of the President's house and a university car, according to the tax documents. According to financial data compiled by the Chronicle of Higher Education, he was one of New Jersey's highest-paid presidents of private colleges in the state. ​ The Administration has the audacity to claim that it is the cost of faculty that is causing Rider's financial difficulties. Amazing!

Rider University's provost's compensation has increased 29% over nine years. In 2014, Provost DonnaJean Fredeen earned $311,925 in salary and other compensation, according to the university's IRS filings. In 2013, the position was unfilled during the spring semester. This explains the dip in the chart for this fiscal year. The Admin will pay these salaries and hundreds of thousands of dollars to lawyers and outside consultants, but they won't pay professors a wage comparable to like institutions. The Admin now wants to create a new category of non-tenure track instructor that makes only $55,000 and teaches 10 classes a year. They claim this will have no detrimental effect on the education provided by Rider.

The Administration recently put out the call for scabs to replace the Rider faculty in the fall. They say they have a responsibility to the students to do so. The responsibility they have to the students is to negotiate fairly with the AAUP to ensure that there is no disruption to the fall semester. They have not met that responsibility. The advertisements for scabs only requires a master's degree. Is that the kind of education you are paying for? Student's and Parents, if this is not acceptable to you, let the Administration hear it.