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H-ASIA April 4, 2007 Chinese scholars and Chinese history (response) ****************************************************************** From: Vivian Blaxell <vblaxell@fatih.edu.tr> I have to confess I don't really understand the concerns expressed by Yang Bin and Thomas DuBois about the numbers of lack thereof of Chinese academics teaching Chinese history in the United States. First, the issue cannot be successfully likened to the matter of who teaches African-American history, nor even to who teaches women's history for the history and politics of black Americans and of women bear no significant resemblance that I can find to the history of China and Chinese. The identity of those who teach African-American history and women's history can be incendiary because these two groups are minorities (though women are statistically a majority I think) with a long history of oppression and erasure and, for better or for worse, current identity politics teaches us that such groups are better served by teaching in "authentic" voices. China and Chinese history hardly falls into this category, although I suppose a Chinese teacher of Chinese history might be free of the taint of Orientalism and more sensitive to issues to do with center/periphery matters, if China can any longer be talked of in those terms. Second, yes it is true most people teaching Chinese history in the United States are not Chinese or even Chinese-American. But how many of the people teaching American history in Chinese universities, both humble and grand, are Americans? Or for that matter how many people teaching German history in Canada are German? Etc., etc. The central question must be: what does having a Chinese teacher of Chinese history or an Australian teacher of Australian history add to the pedagogy? Or, what is lost when an American teaches Chinese history? Vivian Blaxell Associate Professor Fatih University Istanbul TURKEY ************************************************************************* To post to H-ASIA simply send your message to: <H-ASIA@h-net.msu.edu> For holidays or short absences send post to: <listserv@h-net.msu.edu> with message: SET H-ASIA NOMAIL Upon return, send post with message SET H-ASIA MAIL H-ASIA WEB HOMEPAGE URL: http://h-net.msu.edu/~asia/
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