Guide to the Deborah Gerner Collection

Personal Papers of Deborah Gerner, 1974-2006

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Deborah Gerner Collection, University Archives, PP 448, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift, Philip A. Schrodt

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

None

Restrictions on Use

Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.

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INDEX TERMS

Names:

Organizations:

Subjects:

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BIOGRAPHY of Gerner Deborah

Deborah Gerner was born on January 5, 1956 in San Jose, California. She taught at the University of Iowa (1982-1984), Hamilton College (1983-1986), and was a visiting professor at Northwestern University (1985-1988) before coming to the University of Kansas in 1988. She was also a visiting professor at the American University in Cairo (1993), and taught at Birzeit University in the West Bank (1996) as a Fulbright Scholar. She was inducted into the KU Women’s Hall of Fame in 1992, and received the Byron T. Shutz Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1994. In 2000, she received a Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence, and was honored for her undergraduate teaching by the University of Kansas (KU) Center for Teaching Excellence. During her time at KU, Gerner served as the Program Director for the M.A. in International Studies Program (2000-2002), Senior Administrative Fellow (2002-2003), and Co-Director of the Center for International Political Analysis (2000-2006).

Gerner wrote and edited many publications. Her monographs include Understanding the Contemporary Middle East (1st ed., 2000, 2nd ed, 2004), which she edited, and One Land, Two Peoples: The Conflict over Palestine (1st ed., 1991, 2nd ed., 1994).

Gerner received multiple fellowships and awards for her work with both machine-coded event data systems (Kansas Event Data System, or KEDS) and travel for field research and teaching. These fellowships include: the Pew Faculty Fellowship in International Affairs (1994), and Fulbright Scholarships (1996 and 2002). She also received grants from the National Science Foundation that extended from 1991-1993, 1994-1996, and 2001-2004, usually working as co-principal investigator and collaborator with her husband and fellow KU Political Science professor, Philip A. Schrodt.

Gerner passed away on June 19, 2006.

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SCOPE and CONTENTS

The Deborah Gerner collection of personal papers contains teaching materials (lecture handouts, syllabi, exams) from her professorship in the Department of Political Science at KU, as well as similar materials from Gerner’s teaching positions at the University of Iowa, Northwestern, and Hamilton College.

The collection includes several examples of undergraduate and graduate student work; most of these materials are intermixed with Gerner’s course materials and can be found in boxes 1, 7, 9-11, and 13. Gerner’s undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate student work can be found in boxes 15 and 17; also included are her curriculum vitae, articles, material documenting committee work in professional organizations (ISA, APSA), book reviews, talks, and conference papers, newspaper articles featuring or about her, and correspondence related to her published works. Gerner’s job search materials from the 1980s are found throughout, as well as correspondence and committee materials related to women in the profession of Political Science, and dual-career academic couples, both of which can be found in Boxes 14 and 16, with the bulk in Box 18.

Courses taught by Gerner include International Relations, International Mediation and Conflict Resolution, International Political Economy, U.S. Foreign Policy, Politics of the Middle East, Women in Politics: Comparative Perspectives, and Human Rights: Comparative Perspectives. Gerner’s letters, e-mails, notes, and memos about the beginning of the Masters in International Studies (MAIS) program at KU are also included.

Gerner’s letters, notes, and interviews from her travel to the Middle East and North Africa from 1985-1992 (Palestine, Israel, Oman, Jordan) can be found in boxes 4, 10, 16, and 18. Also housed in box 18 are letters from a Gerner student with lengthy descriptions of Zimbabwe, with a focus on women and gender issues, from 1985-1989. Gerner's notes and letters are lengthy and descriptive, with many personal observations; subjects include women and gender issues, academic freedom, political activism, issues of class, race, nationality, the Palestinian Human Rights Information Center (PHRIC), Jewish-Arab relations, religion, and the political situation. Related materials (booklets and pamphlets from these countries, in both English and Arabic) can also be found in Boxes 2 and 18.

Articles, booklets, and research notes related to Gerner and Schrodt’s research with machine coded event data and the Kansas Event Data System (KEDS) are primarily found in boxes 12 and 13, but can be found throughout.

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COLLECTION DESCRIPTION