David Rapkin

David Paul Rapkin, husband and father, professor, culinary enthusiast and inveterate traveler, died on Tuesday, January 19th, 2021 at the age of 74 from complications of Parkinson’s Disease. He leaves behind family made and chosen, lifelong friends, and students mentored. Born on May 11, 1946 in Philadelphia to Bernard Joseph Rapkin and Margaret Eileen Fabry, David grew up in Brooklyn and Atlanta before settling in Lincoln, NE. As a boy, he loved the Brooklyn Dodgers, going to the movies and The Varsity with his cousins, and playing baseball - he was an ace pitcher. David graduated from Briarcliff High School, University of Georgia, and Georgia State University before earning his doctorate at Florida State University in 1979. During David’s 35-year tenure at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he taught various courses in political science and international relations. He wrote extensively on world politics and the global political economy. Early in his career he concentrated on questions of world order and changing power dynamics of states. This led to an interest in hegemony and world leadership and the role of the United States in an evolving global economy. In this context, he maintained a keen interest in Japan and East Asia and published several works exploring Japan’s contributions to international institutions and global politics. In 2013, he published a book detailing possible ways the United States and China will cooperate or conflict in the future. His curiosity about world leadership led him to devote energy examining how power and ideas are manifest in the organization of global institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund. His work raised numerous big-picture questions and challenged conventional wisdom about world politics. A highlight of his career was his time as a visiting professor at the University of Tsukuba in Japan, a period of his life where he traveled widely, relishing world cultures by way of food, art, and music. Though erudite with a trenchant wit, David had no time for pretense. His appreciation for things was most often in inverse proportion to his own talent at them - certainly for bike mechanics, jazz and blues, and art. He could hold his own in the kitchen. His enthusiasm for these pleasures manifested in his collections and camaraderie around them. If you knew him at all, you've likely spent time at his table. If you’ve been there twice, you know that a retinue of sauces dominate the kitchen, each singularly essential. He relished both casual and ambitious bike rides with friends and family, dogeared Rivendell catalogs, and held in highest esteem the guys at Deluxe Bicycles who customized his bikes for purpose and season. His albums once numbered in the thousands, and his kids learned to alphabetize by reshelving vinyl. David’s most significant collection is of West African masks and figural art. Shortly before his Parkinson’s diagnosis and swift decline, he was deeply gratified to curate and present the exhibition of this collection at the Eisentrager Howard Gallery. His aim was to share with others the aesthetic appeal - the visual jolt - he found in the vital expressions of life forms depicted in the art. He is survived by his wife, Wenli X. Rapkin, and his children - Katharine C. Rapkin (Aaron Cohen) of Savannah, GA, Mary C. Fogo (Justin) of Chelsea, AL, Paul M. Rapkin of Savannah, GA, stepson Ken Y. Rapkin (Anna Zhang) of Lincoln, NE, as well as grandsons, Elijah James Fogo, Finley Patrick Fogo, Samuel Theodore Cohen, and Joah Benjamin Cohen. He is also survived by his brothers, Wayne Rapkin and James Rapkin, and their families. According to David’s wishes, a celebration of life will be held at a future date; his ashes are to be scattered on the prairie and the Niobrara River. Should friends desire, contributions can be made to the National Center for Science Education or Prairie Plains Resource Institute.