Rath, Richard Cullen 1969(?)-

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Rath, Richard Cullen 1969(?)-

PERSONAL:

Born c. 1969. Education: Millersville University, B.A., 1991; Brandeis University, Ph.D., 2001.

ADDRESSES:

Office—History Department, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2530 Dole St., Sakamaki Hall A203, Honolulu, HI 96822-2283. E-mail—rrath@hawaii.edu.

CAREER:

Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, visiting lecturer, 1998-99; Hamilton College, Clinton, NY, visiting lecturer, 1999-2000; New York University, New York, NY, visiting assistant professor, 2001; University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, assistant professor, 2002—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Crown fellowship, Brandeis University, 1991-96; research fellowship, Smithsonian Institute, 1997; Kate B. and Hall J. Peterson fellow- ship, American Antiquarian Society, 1998; associate fellow, John Carter Brown Library, 1997; guest fellow, Quaker Collection at Haverford College, 1998; Mellon fellow, Virginia Historical Society, 1998; fellowship, Institute for Advanced Study Religion at Yale University fellowship, 2003.

WRITINGS:

How Early America Sounded, Cornell University Press (Ithaca, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS:

Richard Cullen Rath earned his undergraduate degree at Millersville University, and then went on to continue his studies at Brandeis University, where he graduated with his doctorate in 2001. Rath has served as a visiting lecturer or professor at several institutions of higher learning, including Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio; Hamilton College in Clinton, New York; and New York University in New York City. He has been the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, including the Kate B. and Hall J. Peterson fellowship from the American Antiquarian Society, the Crown fellowship from Brandeis University, and a research fellowship from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. He has also served as an associate fellow at the John Carter Brown Library, a guest fellow for the Quaker Collection at Haverford College, as a Mellon fellow for the Virginia Historical Society, and as a fellow for the Institute for Advanced Study Religion at Yale University. He is an assistant professor of history on the faculty of the University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu, and his primary areas of academic interest include early American history and Native American history.

In 2003, Rath published his first book, How Early America Sounded. The work takes an auditory approach to American history, particularly during the early days of the nation. Rather than relying completely on written history and on information passed down through the generations, Rath attempts to address historical questions regarding the sounds of the country, from dialects to music. He also notes that during the period when the country was founded, a greater emphasis was placed on sound than on reading. Books were read out loud, lessons were memorized and recited, and news was distributed by means of a town crier. Rath also discusses nonverbal noises, and the ways in which these types of sounds might contribute to a better understanding of the nation's history and development. In a review for Library Journal, Frederick J. Augustyn, Jr., praised Rath's work, commenting that "this tour de force of original scholarship is suitable for all library collections. Indeed, its arguments merit recurrent reading." Hillel Schwartz, in a review for the Journal of Social History, lamented Rath's own speech rhythms and patterns as indicated by his writing style, but regarding the substance of his work, remarked: "Historians have rarely been completely deaf to soundscapes and soundways, but How Early America Sounded may be best read as a trumpet call and summons to further listening."