Feb. 01--Former University of Chicago political science professor Lloyd Rudolph was an expert on India and South Asia who did much of his work in collaboration with his wife and fellow faculty member, Susanne.
She died in December. Lloyd Rudolph, 88, died of prostate cancer Jan. 16 in his home in Oakland, Calif., according to his daughter, Jenny. He and his wife, longtime Hyde Park residents, moved to California after their retirement in 2002.
In 2014, the Indian government awarded the couple the Padma Bhushan Award, the nation's third-highest civilian award, given in recognition of their distinguished service to India.
Retired University of Chicago professor Richard Taub said the Rudolphs "always took the position that India was a huge democracy and a successful democracy and worth admiration."
Lloyd Rudolph was born in Chicago and grew up in the city and in Elgin. After graduating from Elgin High School in 1944, he went on to Harvard University. He interrupted his Harvard career to spend a year at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point -- "discovered it was not a good fit for him," said his daughter -- then returned to Harvard in 1946 to finish work on his undergraduate degree.
He continued at Harvard, receiving a master of public administration degree in 1950, and a doctorate in political science in 1956.
He met fellow graduate student Susanne Hoeber at Harvard. They married in 1952, the start of a partnership that spanned more than 60 years.
In 1956, the couple made the first of many trips to India, driving from Austria to New Delhi in a Land Rover. In 2014, they wrote a book about the trip, "Destination India."
Rudolph and his wife joined the Harvard faculty in 1957 and taught there until he was appointed to the University of Chicago political science faculty in 1964.
At U. of C. he was chair of the Committee on International Relations and of the master's program in the social sciences, and was also chair of concentrations in political science, public policy, international studies and South Asian studies.
Rudolph and his wife lived in India every fourth year for nearly 50 years, educating their three children in Indian schools. With his wife, he studied modern politics and examined India's states, both in the British colonial period and after independence, from a home base in Jaipurin the northern Indian state of Rajasthan..
Jenny Rudolph said leaving home and American friends for a year at a time was a bittersweet experience for her and her siblings. But once in India, she said, "we all totally relished the adventure and even as kids perceived the excitement and the difference of being there."
As co-author of "The Modernity of Tradition," first published in 1967 and still in print, Rudolph helped introduce political scientists to what was then a groundbreaking idea, that the politics of countries outside Europe could differ from the European model and still be "modern."
Rudolph's approach to research also pioneered the use of narrative analysis and native literature along with demographic information to understand other cultures and countries. He also incorporated political psychology to understand motivations behind political action.
In all that, both Rudolphs were important participants in what is called the "perestroika" movement in political science, expanding research sources and processes beyond numerical and strictly empirical sources.
Taub, who met the Rudolphs at Harvard, said when they came to Chicago they brought a lively and social approach to understanding India and the Indian people. Rudolph and his wife hosted what Taub called, "a kind of salon" in Hyde Park. Students and faculty would be invited, along with a diverse group of people from India, a group that might include government ministers, newspaper reporters and others for what Taub called "incredibly intense conversations."
"Susanne and Lloyd created in their house a golden bubble of the Indian world," Taub said in an email.
With his wife, Rudolph was co-author, co-editor or contributing author for a number of books and journal articles on India and the region. In 2008, Oxford University Press published a three-volume, career-spanning collection of the couple's writings, "Explaining Indian Democracy: A Fifty-Year Perspective."
In 1999, he received the university's Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching. He retired as professor emeritus in 2002.
Survivors include another daughter, Amelia; a son, Matthew; a brother, Wallace; and three grandchildren.
A memorial service for both Rudolphs is planned for Chicago in May or June.
Megan is a freelance reporter.
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