Peter Sederberg

1943 - 2020

SEDERBERG, Peter Carl 1943 - 2020 Peter Carl Sederberg of Atlanta, GA, died peacefully and surrounded by his loving family on July 31, 2020, from complications of Alzheimer's disease. Born in Minneapolis, MN, Peter and his older sister Kathryn Marie were raised by their mother, Gertrude Helen Pontius Sederberg, after their father, Carl Ellsworth Sederberg, passed away when Peter was 2 years old. Having graduated from De La Salle High School in Minneapolis in 1961, Peter attended the University of Minnesota, graduating in 1965. He excelled in his studies and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in his senior year. Peter completed his PhD in political science at The Johns Hopkins University in 1970. After two years at Wellesley College from 1969 to 1971, Peter found a more permanent home in the Government and International Studies (GINT) department at the University of South Carolina. Peter's scholarly works reflected his interest in political philosophy and violence, especially The Politics of Meaning: Power and Explanation in the Construction of Social Reality (1984), Terrorist Myths: Illusion, Rhetoric, and Reality (1989), and Fires Within: Political Violence and Revolutionary Change (1994). In a process that would define his career and legacy, Peter helped foster the creation and growth of the South Carolina Honors College at USC. Under his deanship, it would become the highest ranked public honors college in the country due to his advocacy for the power of the liberal arts, interdisciplinarity, and research-based learning, an educational approach he championed long before its widespread adoption in the academy. Peter was equally devoted to his family. He married Janice Love in 1984. They modeled for their children the deep passion and respect of a loving and equal partnership. Although he grew up without a father, Peter was full of paternal support and love for his two children, Per Benjamin Sederberg (1974) and Rachel Elin Love (1987). His family's hearts broke when Peter was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in July 2013. In a time of incalculable and lonely suffering and death around the world, Jan, Rachel, and Per are immensely grateful that Peter died surrounded by his family and cradled in love. Peter is survived by his wife Jan Love, their daughter Rachel Love, and his son by his first marriage, Per Sederberg, and his wife Laurel Megan Feigley, who are parents to his granddaughter Isla Magnolia Sederberg and grandson Leif August Sederberg. Peter will be buried at the Honey Creek Woodlands at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, Conyers, GA, with arrangements being handled by Phoenix Funeral Services. Donations may be made to The Peter C. Sederberg Endowed Scholarship Fund, South Carolina Honors College, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.