Paul Patrick Rogers Papers, 1944-1968, 2005 | Oberlin College Archives

Rogers, Paul Patrick (1900-1989)

Paul Patrick Rogers was born to Patrick S. and Aberine (Davis) Rogers on January 5, 1900 in Snohomish, Washington. He served as a sergeant in World War I in 1918. He received his BS degree in 1921 from the University of Mississippi, the MA at Acadia University in 1925, and the PhD in 1928 from Cornell University. He was awarded the title “Knight of the Order of Isabella” by the Spanish King in 1927 for his writings and research.

Rogers was a professor of Spanish language and literature in the department of romance languages at Oberlin College from 1929 to 1966. He was made full professor in 1946, and was chairman of the Spanish department from 1946 to 1962. Before coming to Oberlin, he had taught at the University of Missouri, Cornell University, Acadia University, the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Nebraska. Among a number of visiting professorships were those at the University of New Mexico and the University of Missouri-Columbia, prior to his retirement in 1970.

During the Spanish Civil War, Rogers spent a month in Spain in the summer of 1937 on invitation from the government of the Second Spanish Republic. His journal from that time (at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center), titled “Spanish Journey,” covers seventeen days of Rogers’ firsthand war experiences. He joined the delegation of the North American Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy in Paris; from there the Committee travelled to Valencia, and were received by Spanish President Manuel Azaña at the presidential palace. The delegation toured hospitals, prisons, army bases and battle sites. His friend Langston Hughes joined the delegation on a bus trip to Madrid. In later years Rogers became a frequent visitor to Mexico City, where he joined Spanish Civil War expatriates—mostly writers and artists—in regular gatherings.

Rogers set up and conducted an Oberlin Summer Spanish study program in Mexico, which was the first of three Oberlin summer language programs in foreign countries. The Carnegie Corporation studied the Spanish program, and on the basis of its serious purpose and excellent results granted $90,000 to Oberlin College to support its language programs in foreign countries for three years, and to open the programs to students from other colleges.

Rogers’ publications include Pre-Romantic Drama of Spain (1928), Catalog of the Oberlin College Spanish Drama Collection (1940), Galdoni in Spain (1941), Dictonario de seudonimos literarios espanoles (1977), and numerous articles in publications including Hispanic Review, Romanic Review, Hispania, and Modern Language Forum.

While residing in Austin from 1970 to 1989, he made donations of literary memorabilia to the Humanities Research Center, and was a member of the Chancellor’s Council of the University of Texas System beginning in 1971. Rogers wrote an exhibition catalog, The Spanish Civil War: An Exhibition for the Humanities Research Center, the University of Texas at Austin, in 1978.­­­­­­­­­­­­

Paul Rogers married Lillian Douglass on June 15, 1922 (died 1936); they had two sons. On December 22, 1961 he married Gerhild Brueggermann, Oberlin College class of 1961, of Saarbrucken, Germany. He died on August 5, 1989; he was survived by his wife, a son, daughter-in-law and one grandson, all of Austin.

Sources

Sebastiaan Faber, “Wartime Diary of a Spanish Professor,” Oberlin Alumni Magazine (Summer 2003), 11.

Paul P. Rogers faculty file, Alumni and Development Records (RG 28), Oberlin College Archives.

Paul Patrick Rogers Collection finding guide, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas, Austin.

Author: Anne Cuyler Salsich

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