Apocrypha
I came to the study of China somewhat indirectly. After working my way as an undergraduate history major through modern revolutions in India, France, the United States, and Russia, I ended up delving into Mao's Little Red Book at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. I finished up a BA at Kalamazoo College in 1986 and was off to Taipei for two years of language study at the Shida Mandarin Training Center (plus dragon boat races, oolong tea and dumplings,and lunch meetings at local Rotary clubs--the contemporary Taiwanese configuration of native place associations). I returned to the States to study at the University of Chicago, where I took history of Chinese art courses for the first time as part of my MA degree in history. After a year at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, followed by a year of teaching ESL at independent high schools in the Boston area, I moved to the University of Oregon to start work in my new field of study with Ellen Johnston Laing, and later, with Charles Lachman. I eventually made my way to Stanford. While there, I had the privilege and delight of studying with two more wonderful teachers, Rick Vinograd and Hal Kahn. My final extended sojourn abroad was in Yokohama, first to make a last-ditch attempt at brushing up my then uncertain Japanese language skills at the Inter-University Center (which now, alas, have returned to a state of uncertainty). I lived in Yokohama a second year to conduct dissertation research in Tokyo-area archives and museums. I also spent a good chunk of time in convenience stores late at night, and on the trains (Hou Hsiao-hsien's movie Café Lumière captures the strange intimacy of the social space on the trains perfectly). I came back to a final year at Stanford as Geballe Graduate Fellow at the Humanities Center. The day after I submitted my dissertation, I moved to Portland. The U-Haul truck broke down four times. From 2001-2006 I taught at Lewis & Clark College, and now, as my fortune cookie predicted, I am, happily, settled down here at Reed.
Spring 2009 update....
Or so I thought...it appears that I will be making more changes (not many more, I hope) and that the journey will continue, hopefully sans break downs by U-Haul trucks and all that that metaphorically suggests. This coming December, I am off to Washington DC to finish a book manuscript as a Senior Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution, and to continue the process of exploring and teaching Chinese visual art in new contexts.
Photo Galleries
Beihai Park, Beijing 2006
Forbidden City, Beijing 2006
Tiananmen Square, Beijing 2006
Shanghai 2008 pending
China Urban Blog China Urban Collective
Other fun stuff
Nihon Sumo Kyokai Official Grand Sumo Home page
Get a Chinese name Generate a Chinese name from your English name and find your sign in the Chinese zodiac
Live view of Mt Fuji