圣赌博平台网站大全历史学教授，博士.D.他最近被评为20位公共知识分子之一 联合国全国委员会.S.中美关系, a program meant to mentor and highlight a handful of China specialists from across the country. The program intends to increase Americans’ understanding of China by strengthening links among U.S. 学者、政策制定者、意见领袖和公众.
我们和Tam谈过, who is also one of the leaders for East Asian Studies at 赌博娱乐平台网址大全 (EAST) and co-directs the women and 性别研究 interdisciplinary minor, 关于她的背景, 研究, 以及对未来的希望.
是什么激发了你在学术界的事业?
I was inspired to pursue a career in academia by my own advisers in college. I've always been drawn to teaching; since I was a teenager, 我一直觉得走在探索的道路上是很值得的, 是否是信息的发现, 一种技能, 或者洞察我们自己, 和另一个人. You not only learn more about the world by being forced to explain things clearly to someone else; you also learn more about those things yourself. 教学对我来说是一个终生学习的机会.
你希望如何影响你的学生?
我希望 at the very least I can teach them that learning is a lifelong process. 我希望我能教他们一些不那么具体的信息, but instead give them the tools to approach the construction of knowledge with empathy, 批判性思维, 和细微差别. I also hope I can influence them to do something that will make the world a little bit of a better place or bring a positive impact to the lives of others.
你的研究兴趣是中国近代史, 民族主义, 集体认同的建构, 性别研究, 及中文. 是什么吸引你来到这些地方? 你希望通过你的研究了解他们什么?
我很着迷于分类是如何定义我们作为人的. 作为一个美国人对我来说意味着什么? 一个女人? 一个千禧年的? 一位教授? 说英语的人? How much is the meaning of these categories something that I get to define—as in, how much do I get to decide what it means to be a woman for me—and how much of it is projected onto me by others? 我认为这些分类的产生方式, 定义, 有界的, and gate-kept really helps us profoundly understand our human past and present.
通过我的研究, 我希望 to help both the people who read my work and my students understand China in a way that is more 细致入微的 and human than is so often portrayed. 中国通常被认为是一个整体. 但中国是一个多元化的国家, 定义 less by a singular historical cultural tradition than by cleavages and tensions among understandings of what it means to be Chinese. 我的工作 seeks to address and bring awareness to the inherent fallacy of Chinese unity by drawing attention to how categories of identity are constructed, 它们如何服务于不平等的权力动态, 以及它们如何塑造有形的现实.
You enjoy using teaching to explore with students how the study of history informs our present. 你认为你的研究对这个观点有什么帮助?
我举个例子. 我的书, 中国的方言与民族主义, 关注语言与民族认同的关系, 而不是专注于本国语言, 普通话, 我的书重新定位了中国国家建设的故事 fangyan, 我们通常把这个词翻译成英语“方言”," and includes dozens of other non-普通话 Chinese languages spoken across the country. While this book certainly has historical implications—it challenges conventional histories of language policy both in China and worldwide that present the promulgation of a standardized national language as the groundswell of nationalist sentiment—it also has meaning to people today.
我经常给当地人做演讲, non-普通话 Chinese languages often feel as though their mother tongues, 或者他们的父母或祖父母说的语言, 正在灭绝. 我的工作, 我希望, can give a voice to those hundreds of millions of speakers of other Chinese languages who see their own language as central to their own lives and identities, 因为它表明, 从历史上看, 这些语言一直是中国过去和现在的核心. 它还有助于作为倡导这些语言的工具.
What does it mean for you to be named one of only twenty Public Intellectual Fellows for The 联合国全国委员会nited States中美关系?
To be really blunt, it's somewhat overwhelming and surprising, because it is a really huge honor. The Public Intellectual Program was founded 15 years ago to help strengthen ties between academics 政策制定者, 专业人士, 以及普通大众, and it is truly amazing to be a part of these really important conversations.
I have long found it a responsibility to not just write for other academics, 而是为了让更广泛的受众了解中国, 包括我的学生和其他社区. This program gives me a platform to continue to speak to a general audience interested in more 细致入微的 understandings of China. 这对我来说也很有意义，因为现在，美国.S.中国关系正在恶化, and a lot of us who study China are finding it difficult to maintain the very personal connections with China that make our work so meaningful. The Chinese government is becoming more and more hostile to foreign academics, 和暴力, oppressive crackdowns and crimes against humanity in places such as Xinjiang and Hong Kong are really heartbreaking to watch as someone who truly loves the country and the people who live there.
我想不出比这更重要的时刻了, 但至关重要的, discussions about what it means to sustain engagement with China in a compassionate, 细致入微的, 今天是同理心的时代. We need to work together to find ways to speak for the most oppressed groups within China and also work to dispel the common two-dimensional, 平, or even racist tropes that often dominate popular discussions about China and feed anti-Asian racism around the world.
What do you plan on doing with the fellowship, and how will you use what you learn at 赌博娱乐平台网址大全?
A critical part of the fellowship is making connections with other people who are invested in strengthening personal, 知识, and cultural ties between the United States and the People's Republic of China, 用它来打造一个更好的, 更人性化的未来. 我不仅非常期待与其他同事见面, who are at the forefront of cutting-edge 研究 on things like digital security, 当地政治, 贸易关系, 以及其他话题, 还有包括记者在内的专业人士, 非营利组织的创始人, 活动家和草根组织者, 企业家, 政策制定者. 我认为学者可以为其他专业人士提供很多东西, 我们可以从他们身上学到很多东西. I look forward to simply enriching my own knowledge and understanding of China.
The headlining photo is of Gina Tam receiving media training during a Public Intellectual Fellows conference in Washington, D.C.
