“Utility of the Useless” a Brief Sketch of a Life in Sinology
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Abstract
This essay provides an entirely personal perspective on the history of the state of the field of Early China studies during the time that its author, Michael Nylan, has been observing its highs and lows. That her graduate life began at a time an American citizen such as she would not even be admitted to the PRC, and now, decades later, must once again confront rising anti-Chinese prejudice reminiscent of the Cold War (1949-1991), is discouraging, to say the least, not only to her but to many of her colleagues, young and old. As the author is a historian, the essay tries to situate current trends within a broader context of concerted attacks on the humanities in general and history in particular as useless, before quoting a Holocaust-survivor’s belief in their ultimate utility.
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