Williams College Oral History Project Interview with Susan Dunn
April 13, 2009
Interview Length: 27 pages
Susan Dunn (b. 1945) is the Preston S. Parish Ő41 Third Century Professor in the Arts and Humanities at Williams College. Dunn came to Williams in 1973, and taught French Literature in the Department of Romance Languages until 2003.
In her second interview for the Oral History Project, this time with Robert Stegeman, Dunn discusses the four books she has written since her last interview, asserting that Dominion of Memories is her favorite of the four. She talks about the Founding Fathers, and how important it is to study them; the process of writing op-eds; and the Leadership Studies program at Williams.
She discusses her current book project, on Franklin Roosevelt in the year 1938; how much she enjoys writing and southern political history; and the lack of social interactions among faculty at Williams, explaining that part of it could be that she is a Humanities professor at a college with no Humanities department. She talks about President Schapiro and his move to Northwestern; Carl VogtŐs time as president; and the new presidential search committee.
The transcript of this interview and accompanying audio file (if available) may be accessed only in the Archives/Chapin Reading Room.