Peter Bien oral history interview

Oral history interview with Peter Bien, Dartmouth professor emeritus of English, about his experience as a pacifist and conscientious objector during the Vietnam War era. Bien discusses his early life growing up in New York City and graduating from the boarding school Deerfield Academy. He describes studying literature at Harvard University for two years before transferring to Haverford College, a small school operated by the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker), where he graduated with a music degree in 1952. Bien relates how his exposure at Haverford to Quaker ideals of social justice and pacifism influenced his life post-graduation as he went on to serve developmentally disabled people in the Netherlands before being called back to the U.S. to be drafted in the Korean War. Bien describes how he applied for conscientious objector (CO) status out of religious conviction, which was ultimately granted, allowing him to complete his service working at a hospital in Rochester, New York. Bien discusses his experience as a graduate student at Columbia University, where he ultimately received his PhD in comparative literature in 1961 and subsequently was hired as a professor at Dartmouth College. Bien discusses the political atmosphere on campus and diverse attitudes among faculty and students about the war in Viet Nam. He describes how student activism led to the abolition of the ROTC program with faculty support. He also provides an account of the May 1969 occupation of Parkhurst Hall and his support for the students who were arrested. Bien also describes his further involvement in anti-war activity on campus including public demonstrations with other pacifists and members of the local Quaker community.