In 1839, a twice-divorced temple daughter from a small village in Echigo ran away to Edo. In a letter home, she wrote that she wanted to enter a daimyo's service and learn "the conduct and manners of the upper class." Her brothers, scandalized, demanded that she return immediately. Instead, she made a life for herself […]
How did the citizens of Italian communes learn to trust one another, trust one another enough to build the fundamental institutions of a civil society in which citizens enjoyed participatory politics, elected officials to administer the laws, and adjudicated disputes according to legal statutes? The answer to this question points to a peculiar paradox of […]
“Gateway to Freedom liberates the history of the underground railroad from the twin plagues of mythology and cynicism. For anyone who still wonders what was at stake in the Civil War, there is no better place to begin than Gateway to Freedom.”—James Oakes, author of Freedom National, winner of the Lincoln Prize A deeply entrenched […]
Ying HuAssociate Professor, East Asian Languages & Literature University of California, Irvine About the Talk: This talk examines two cases of martyr-making, that of Qiu Jin (1875-1907), an anti-Qing revolutionary and beheaded for her involvement in armed uprising, and that of Liangbi (1877-1912), Manchu loyalist, commander of the Qing Palace Guard, whose assassination in January […]
Classes end Friday March 13. Final Exam Schedule hm 12/18/14
Jodi Magness has uncovered some stunning synagogue mosaics in her excavations at Huqoq and will be here to talk about them. UCSB-Westmont Joint Lecture Series on the New Testament and Early Christianity This is will be a seminar-style presentation with lots of Q and A, and a little light lunch. hm 3/9/15
Professor Madsen is the author or co-author of twelve books on Chinese culture, American culture, and international relations. His best known works on American culture are Habits of the Heart and The Good Society. These books explore and criticize the culture of individualism and the institutions that sustain it. Habits of the Heart won the […]
Instruction begins on Monday March 30. Monday, May 25: Memorial Day holiday Friday, June 5: Last day of instruction. June 6-12: Final exams. June 13-14: Commencement Final Exam Schedule hm 2/8/15
The tragic events at Charlie Hebdo are a reminder of the continuing force of images incontemporary culture. Far from an isolated incident, tensions surrounding portrayals of the Prophet Muhammad continue to resonate and escalate, threatening further polarization and violence. Media responses to the crisis have framed this as a clash between “Western” and “Islamic” values […]
Wadad Kadi is the Avalon Foundation Distinguished Service Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Chicago. Sponsored by the King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud Chair in Islamic Studies and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, UCSB hm 2/16/15