After years of hard work, research and dedication, Castleton History, Geography, Economics, and Political Science Department faculty members Dr. Scott Roper, Geography, and Dr. Adam Chill, Global Studies, each recently released publications.
“There is nothing quite like seeing your own name on the cover of a book and reading words that you’ve written on its pages,” says Chill.
Entitled “Bare-Knuckle Britons and Fighting Irish,” Chill’s work details the ways in which boxers, journalists, and many others used identity to promote themselves and their sport. The strategies both reflected and shaped national, ethnic, religious, racial and gender identities in Britain and Ireland in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
His inspiration came years back while he was researching a conference paper in the Boston College archives, and found a source about boxing, called Boxiana, peaking his interest on the subject.
“Many of my colleagues are very active and successful scholars in their fields and I’m certainly motivated to try to keep up with them,” joked Chill, adding that from start to finish his publishing journey, which started as a doctoral dissertation in 2004, took nearly thirteen years. “My students have inspired me too and watching them produce their own original research projects has been almost as rewarding as completing my book.”
Roper’s novel, “When Baseball Met Big Bill Haywood,” examines the world’s largest cotton textile in the industry, Amoskeag Manufacturing Company of Manchester, New Hampshire, and seeks its relevancy to baseball with influences over the government and media. Roper hopes his book will motivate readers to better understand the importance of a social safety net and direct voting of US Senators.
“The book is about how a New Hampshire corporation attempted to use baseball, as well as its own influence over government and media, to keep its labor force from unionizing and to keep the federal and state governments from regulating industry,” he said.
Though the Geography professor has written many articles about the use of regional cultural landscapes to Americanize immigrant, and also the desegregation of baseball, combining the two was a unique first. He utilized his 2012-13 sabbatical, as well as summer months, to accomplish a majority of his research and writing, before adding the final touches in 2016.
Both Chill and Roper are thankful for the overwhelming support they received from the Castleton community throughout their journey, including encouragement from fellow department colleagues and growing interest from students, staff, and administration.
“It’s important for me to be active in researching and writing because it’s how I stay engaged in my field and in related ones. I also want to provide a good example for my students, especially since I require research and writing projects in many of the courses I teach,” said Roper. “I really appreciate the support of my colleagues and former students who basically cheered me on through the process.”