On December 27, 2020, our friend, colleague, and professor Robert Kruckeberg passed
away after a brief illness. From the time of his diagnosis until his passing, he got
married, became a father, and took care of his family, even as they took care of him.
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I recently (January 2025) reached out to Dr. Kruckeberg because I missed him and wanted
to begin a dialogue with him about things I thought he would find interesting. I didn't
know about his passing and I felt profound grief for him and shame for not knowing.
I just wanted to share with you a few things about him that made me excited for class
with him.
I was a STEM major, and Dr. Kruckeberg was my western civ 1 and 2 teacher. Over the
course of conversation in class, he found out I was Catholic and I became the first
hand authority about anything regarding the Catholic faith, even though I reiterated
each time that I was a bad Catholic and not worthy of being the authority. As you
can imagine, Catholicism came up frequently in a western civ class. He thought I was
being modest and would still ask me what I thought about certain moments in European
history involving Catholicism. It made me feel important and kept me engaged, and
a lot of the time the class would laugh at our back and forth. Beyond that, he made
me feel like he valued my opinion- he would frequently ask my thoughts on a wide range
of topics during lecture including science and current events. At one point he asked
me to explain general relativity (I was a freshman and completely ignorant on the
subject) and I said I don't know, something about Einstein and e=mc^2 and he gave
me a little chuckle and politely moved on without embarrassing me. As my education
and career have progressed, this moment pops into my head more than I'd like to admit,
but he was learned enough to know I had no idea what I was talking about and polite
enough to not embarrass me in front of my peers. This instance is what I emailed him
about recently, to thank him for not embarrassing me and to acknowledge that I had
no idea what I was talking about. I wanted to tell him that I am knowledgeable enough
to explain general relativity to him now if he was willing to give me a "do-over".
I thought he would get a kick out of it. I wish we could have that conversation.
Anyways, I find myself in a state of profound grief and shame at finding out about
his passing. He was a great teacher. I hated every other non STEM class I took because
it felt like a waste of my time and money, but not his class. What he taught me was
how to analyze things I read, how to understand the motivations behind people's actions
and behavior, and how to transform a lot of information into a clean narrative. These
skills have transcended simple history class and are skills I use every day.
I am profoundly sad that he passed. My child was born while I was in his class. He
was the first professor I told. He helped me navigate the anxieties and doubt of those
first few weeks and showed me that I am a capable and competent person and alleviated
my fears and anxieties. I wish I could thank him. He was a great man and my favorite
professor even as a STEM student.
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Joshua O'Daniel | STEM, 2023
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I only took one class with Kruck but that was enough to collect stories I'll probably
tell forever. I took history of western thought a couple of years ago. I remember
the debate I went through during registration: my two choices were bioethics...at
a time like 2 PM, or western thought with Kruck at 8:30 AM. I am, as you probably
know, a confirmed night owl and so wasn't eager for the early start, but it was that
or discuss organs...so there I was.
I got up at 7:30 AM every Tuesday and Thursday for months to discuss the dry, often
nonsensical writings of dead white male philosophers, and the only reason it was all
worth it was Kruck. That experience was one of the big clues that I needed to change
my major; there was one particular day early in the semester when I woke up to the
noxious tones of my alarm and thought, "God, I just don't want to get up. This bed
is way too soft and warm. I know it's cold outside too." But then I thought, "well,
I did really want to discuss that Francis Bacon reading." And so I did.
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A Troy Student | History, 2020
Education:
B.A., University of North Texas, 1999 Ph.D., University of Michigan, 2009
Research Interests:
Old Regime France, Eighteenth-Century Europe, the Enlightenment, French Revolution,
and the Atlantic World
Biography
Robert Kruckeberg was Associate Professor of History at 番茄社区 University and received
his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 2009. He came to Troy in the fall of
2012, and remained a dedicated colleague, professor, and friend until his passing
at the end of 2020. Before coming to TROY , he taught at the University of Mississippi,
Alfred University, and Kalamazoo College. He was working on a book manuscript titled
The Wheel of Fortune in Eighteenth-Century France: The Lottery, Economic Change, and
Political Transformation. This project examined the development of lotteries in France
during the eighteenth century from small charitable lotteries to the largest state
run lottery Europe had ever known in the Royal Lottery. The project used the lotteries
to examine the intersection between political and economic transformation that preceded
the French Revolution in 1789 and continued on during the Revolution itself. More
broadly, he was interested in the rise of modern financial capitalism and its connection
with the rise of modern political culture.
Courses Taught at 番茄社区:
Western Civilization I and II French Revolution and Napoleon Early Modern France Age of Absolutism Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment The Caribbean Modern European Intellectual and Cultural History Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe
鈥淜ruck's irreverent teaching style meant that I felt completely comfortable walking
into the class and starting the discussion with "what the hell was that??" He was
always ready and willing to talk about how downright weird the reading was. Our discussion
experience was supplemented by lectures, which also included just how weird the authors
were. My friends and I could be ourselves with him, engaging with the class in the
way we did best: by saying stupid stuff. Other teachers did not always appreciate
this approach, but it was Kruck's modus operandi as far as I know.鈥
A Troy Student | History, 2020
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