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GOBETZ, EDWARD

In his book The Slovenian Heritage, published in 1974, Gobetz describes the Slovene contribution to America and the world. He begins with the enthronement of the Dukes of Carinthia (Karantania) which Thomas Jefferson found so helpful and inspiring when drafting the American Declaration of Independence, and refers to this ceremony as "a democratic ritual that has yet to be surpassed." In addition he mentions many important Slovene Americans and their descendants that have been elected to Congress, many have been state governors and mayors. Several hundred have made their mark as university professors, judges, architects, writers, actors, singers, inventors, and innovators. Thousands have become prosperous businessmen. In the military field there have been six generals and seven admirals. Gobetz also mentions nine bishops, among them the missionary Frederik Baraga (1797-1868), whose visions and ideas concerning cultural pluralism were to be accepted by the US Congress one hundred and forty years later. And Slovenian architects that designed such projects as L'Enfant Plaza and Robert Kennedy Stadium in Washington, the Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, the new Christian Science Center in Boston, the San Jose Mercury News Building in San Jose, California, the "Cityplace" in Dallas, and the East-West-Center at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu.

The importance of his work in reference to Slovenia is that he tries to refute the most prevalent "myths" about Slovenia that lie in the fact the Slovenia as a small country is relatively unknown to the world in spite of its participation in all the important historical events.

Dr Edward Gobetz is a professor of sociology and anthropology at Kent State University in Ohio. He is a founder of the Slovenian Research Center in the USA and author or editor of 15 books, including Slovenian Heritage, Ohio´s Lincoln Frank Lausche, and Anthology of Slovenian American Literature.

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