Professor Robert E. Weir (‘Rob’) is a native of Chambersburg, PA, which he escaped as soon as possible. He did undergraduate and Masters work at Shippensburg University, and obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in U.S. labor, social, and cultural history. Rob taught high school in northern Vermont before attending the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and has taught at various colleges, including: Community College of Vermont, Elms College, University of Massachusetts, Mt. Holyoke, and Smith. He was an associate professor at Bay Path College for 11 years before leaving to take on new challenges. He currently teaches at Smith, UMass Online, and Commonwealth College (the UMass honors college). In 2001, he was a senior Fulbright scholar in Wellington, New Zealand. He is the author of Beyond Labor’s Veil; Knights Unhorsed; The Changing Landscape of Labor (with Michael Jacobson-Hardy); and The Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor (ed. With James Hanlan). His forthcoming books are: Social Class in America: An Encyclopedia and Knights Down Under. Rob is an active freelance journalist whose features, music reviews, op-eds, and photographs have appeared in publications such as: SingOut!, The Valley Advocate; The Daily Hampshire Gazette; The Boston Phoenix; Celtic Heritage; Global Rhythm; fRoots; and Hampshire Life. He is also the executive secretary of the Northeast Popular/American Culture Association.
Test Prep Network’s Scott Mercer interviewed Professor Weir regarding his book Knights Unhorsed: Internal Conflict in a Gilded Age Social Movement.