Eugen Weber

---

 

One of Eugen Weber’s students once remarked that while she dreaded taking his final, she would love to take him to lunch.

It was a special tribute to one of the history department’s most demanding and best-loved professors. Eloquent, erudite and witty, Weber challenges his student to use their minds, inspiring them to synthesize literature, language, attitudes and social and political events into a comprehensive understanding of history in general and French history in particular.

Since the 1950s, when he first came to UCLA, Weber has used a variety of tools to teach more people more effectively. While he was dean of the College of Letters and Science, he helped structure remedial efforts for under-prepared students and created an honors program to provide the best students with meaningful intellectual encounters.

For as long as he can remember, Weber says, he has always wanted to share the things he found interesting, curious, remarkable and intriguing. As a result, he has constantly sought new ways to make his material more accessible, blurring the lines between teaching, writing and research, and borrowing from each to strengthen the others. The author of several books, in the late 1980s, Weber was approached by WGBH to undertake a TV series. “The Western Tradition,” which explored western civilization, aired in 1989 and brought his knowledge o the subject he loves to an even larger audience.

In any medium, it is the gifted who ultimately engage, challenge and captivate their audiences. Within the medium of teaching, there can be little doubt that Weber is a master.