Rupert Emerson

Who was Rupert Emerson?

Rupert Emerson was a professor of political science and international relations. He served on the faculty of Harvard University for forty-three years and served in various U.S government positions.

After serving in the U.S. Navy from 1917–18, he received a B.A. from Harvard University in 1922, then a Ph.D. at the London School of Economics in 1927. He was a member of the American Political Science Association, the Association for Asian Studies, the African Studies Association, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Emerson was on the faculty of Harvard University from 1927 until his retirement in 1970. A specialist on nationalism in Asia and Africa, he often guest lectured at universities in East Africa. He was an instructor at Harvard from 1927–31; assistant professor, 1931–38; associate professor of political science, 1938–46; professor of international relations, 1946–70; emeritus professor of political science, 1970-79. He was a lecturer at Yale University, 1937–38; a visiting professor of political science at University of California, Berkeley, 1953–54, and 1973, at University of California, Los Angeles, 1965–71, and at the American University in Cairo, 1972.