F&M Stories
Socrates Citation in Honor of Michael Clapper
Professor Michael Clapper’s 20-year career at Franklin & Marshall College can be characterized as one of devotion to his students, recognition for scholarly contributions, and significant service to the College. Professor Clapper earned his B.A. at Swarthmore College, MFA in painting at Washington University, and Ph.D. in art history at Northwestern University.
Professor Clapper offered courses in Western modern and contemporary art, as well as in American art, which has been his area of scholarly research. His training and accomplishments as both a painter and an art historian have enabled him to offer keen insights from which his students have benefited. Among Professor Clapper’s innovative contributions to the art history curriculum was “Art, Capitalism and Markets,” an interdisciplinary course cross-listed with Business, Organizations & Society. Exploring art from the wide-ranging perspectives of aesthetics, politics, psychology, technology, and business, the course arose from Professor Clapper’s scholarly focus on American popular art, which served the psychological wants and needs of an expanding middle-class with the flourishing of industrial capitalism. Much of Professor Clapper’s research in this area has appeared in premier journals for American art.
Professor Clapper’s service to the department, the College, and his broader field are notable. He helped found the innovative journal in American art history, Panorama, and has been a leading voice on College committees centered on F&M’s finances and compensation. During his tenure as department chair, he oversaw the initiative to construct the Susan and Benjamin Winter Visual Arts Center, which houses well-equipped studios and a state-of-the-art cinema. The building fulfills the objective to integrate the college’s film program with studio art and art history into what is now appropriately titled the Visual Arts Department.
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