“China in the American Imagination” is topic of Feb. 12 lecture at Maryville College

Jan. 29, 2008
Karen B. Eldridge, Director of News and Public Information
865.981.8207; karen.eldridge@maryvillecollege.edu

Dr. Jeff WasserstromDr. Jeff Wasserstrom, professor of history at the University of California, Irvine, and author of China’s Brave New World:  And Other Tales for Global Times, will present a talk on the emerging Far East power on Feb. 12 as part of the Jackson Lecture Series at Maryville College.

Funded through an endowment established by Mrs. Mary Lib Jackson in honor of her husband, the Jackson Lecture Series is an annual event, hosted jointly by Maryville College and the University of Tennessee. The Jackson Lecture was designed to bring experts on East Asian culture, politics and religion to the East Tennessee region for a two-day lecture event to promote interest in international education.

Wasserstrom will speak at UT on Feb. 11. His presentation at Maryville College, entitled “China in the American Imagination: 1900-2008,” is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Lawson Auditorium of the College’s Fayerweather Hall. It is free and open to the public.

He is expected to discuss what he calls the “intertwining of variations on the American China Dream.” Exploring the country’s evolution from the days of the Boxer Rebellion to this year’s Summer Olympics, he will address both a rosy vision of a country that is about to convert to the United States’ ways and a dark vision of a threat to what U.S. citizens hold dear.

Wasserstrom, whose fields of interest include modern China, revolutions, urban studies and globalization, holds a doctoral degree from the University of California, Berkeley, a master’s degree from Harvard, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Prior to joining the faculty at the University of California, Irvine, he taught at the University of Indiana in Bloomington. He is a regular contributor to academic journals and has written for a variety of general-interest periodicals, including Newsweek, The Nation, New Left Review, the Far Eastern Economic Review, the Los Angeles Times and the Christian Science Monitor.

Once an acting editor of the American Historical Review, Wasserstrom will take the reigns as editor of the Journal of Asian Studies this summer. He is currently completing work on a book entitled Global Shanghai, 1850-2010, which looks, historically, at the international forces at play in the city and at Shanghai’s changing global reputation.

“As China grows ever more important to U.S. interests, it is critical that Americans realize how we have typically misunderstood Chinese society in the past,” said Dr. Brian Pennington, associate professor of religion and one of the Jackson Lecture Series coordinators. “Whether we have seen China in romantic terms or imagined that it poses a threat to all that we treasure, Americans have been fascinated by the 'Far East.'

“Professor Wasserstrom will examine how the U.S. has imagined China during the past century and how we remain both enchanted and troubled by this cultural and economic giant as the international community prepares for the 2008 Beijing Olympics,” Pennington continued. “The spectrum of American impressions of China that his work reveals will help us think more carefully about how we can productively engage this emerging great power.”

For more information on the Feb. 12 event, contact Pennington at 865.981.8254 or brian.pennington@maryvillecollege.edu.

Maryville College is ideally situated in Maryville, Tenn., between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Knoxville, the state's third largest city. Founded in 1819, it is the 12th oldest institution of higher learning in the South and maintains an affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Known for its academic rigor and its focus on the liberal arts, Maryville is where students come to stretch their minds, stretch themselves and learn how to make a difference in the world. Total enrollment for the fall 2009 semester is 1,103.