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daily nebraskan
Wednesday, may 3, 1978
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History beyond the facts
is professor's class goal
Photo by Mark Billingsley
Patrice Berger, UNL assistant professor of history.
Library hours lengthened
Love Library, C.Y. Thompson Library
and Nebraska Hall have extended their
hours for dead week and finals week.
Hours at Law Library will remain 7:30 to
2 a.m. weekdays, 8 to 2 a.m. Saturdays and
10 to 2 a.m. Sundays.
Love and C.Y. Thompson libraries will
be open Monday through Thursday of dead
week and finals week from 7:30 a.m. to
midnight. Friday's hours are 7:30 a.m. to
5 p.m. The libraries will be open May 6
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and May 7 from
1:30 p.m. to midnight.
The Nebraska Hall study area will be
open 24 hours a day. The library will be
open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 6:30 to 10:30
p.m.
By Mary Fastenau
His office window does not overlook
the Eiffel Tower. He does not spend his
Sunday afternoons driving along the Ri
viera. He does not speak with a noticeable ac
cent, but France is really home for Patrice
Berger, UNL assistant professor of history.
Berger (pronounced Bourjay) was born
in France, but the United States and New
York City became his home at age five.
His speech does not have a midwestern
twang, but there is a richness and sophis
tication which accompanies his speech
and mannerisms.
Though he has spent the majority of his
life in the U.S., Berger remains a French
cjtizen. He said it is easier to keep that al
liance since he returns to France at least ev
ery two years.
He said it is nice to have relatives in
France, but adds that his trips usually are
"four-fifths work and one-fifth enjoyment."
Berger explained that his specialized re
search into early modem French history of
the 17th and 18th centuries is based on au
thentic documents found only in France.
He said it is often difficult for history
professors because their specialized areas
tend to be narrow, but then they are ex
pected to get in front of a classroom and
make "cosmic observations."
Berger's students in upper level classes,
which includes a course in French history,
however, receive the advantages from his
specialization.
Essay exams are given, the exams are
returned with a grade and Berger's typed
comments.
Berger said his reason for doing this is
that students have the tendency to think
essays are unfair because they are subjec
tively graded. He said they think tests
which deal only with facts are more objec
tive and a better test of knowledge.
'That, of course, is pure bunk," Berger
said. He thinks his form of evaluation helps
to remove some of the hostility students
have toward essay examinations, he said.
"It is as easy to communicate in writing
as orally," he said.
Many students are ilUprepared for essay
exams, according to Berger, and he said he
hopes to help students with writing skills.
Most people have some need for effective
written communication , he said.
He admitted that another reason for
the typewritten comments is for better
communication with the students and
because his handwriting was illegible.
Through his teaching, he said he at
temps to confront students with a differ
ent type of man, and social and political
organization. He said he wants students not
only to learn what other men did not but
compare their actions to those of the pre
sent. "History has been regarded as a string
of facts, and I am trying to get beyond the
string of facts to examine the actions of
men," Berger said.
He said the person who becomes "educat
ed in the most complete sense" is the per
son who is open to experience.
Berger received his undergraduate deg
ree at Columbia University and his M.A.
and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Chi
cago. He moved to Lincoln in 1 970. He said
there is a slower pace of life in Lincoln, but
added that he and his wife, a Chicago na
tive, have come to enjoy it.
However, he said, everyone should have
the opportunity to travel and to ome in
contact with a variety of cultural groups.
"I think it is important for Nebraskans
to experience urban life and for people
from an urban environment to experience
the midwest," he said.
Berger advocates trips to Europe to help
broaden one's experience, but he says he
realizes that is impossible for most stu
dents. However, he said, shorter trips
which fit student finances better are also of
value.
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