January 17, 2002
Briefly
‘Man Who Stayed Behind’ to speak at Burke lecture
Sidney Rittenberg, the man who went to China in the Army in 1945 and ended up staying for 35 years, will lecture on China’s Cultural Revolution: A Turning Point in History at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 31 in 220 Kane.
The lecture is sponsored by the Burke Museum and the University Book Store and is offered in conjunction with the Burke’s temporary exhibit, Ordinary Life in Extraordinary Times: China’s Cultural Revolution, which runs from Jan. 24 to March 10.
Rittenberg originally went to China as a Chinese language expert in the Army, but after his discharge he joined the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency and was employed as a neutral interpreter for all three sides—the U.S., Chinese Nationalists, and Communists—during the Chinese Civil War. It was in this role that he first met the Chinese Communist leader Zhou Enlai and, through Zhou, Chairman Mao Zedong.
Just before his anticipated return to this country, Rittenberg accepted an invitation by the Communist leaders to stay in China and assist in setting up an English language program. Over the next 35 years, he remained in China and became esteemed by Chinese writers, translators, and others in the English journalism community.
Rittenberg took part in the translation of major Chinese texts, including selected works of Mao Zedong, and was acquainted personally with other important Chinese leaders, such as Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yi and the “Gang of Four.” Though committed intellectually and ideologically to the aims of the Party, Rittenberg was nonetheless imprisoned twice by Mao, on charges of being a CIA agent, and spent a total of 16 years in solitary confinement.
He and his wife returned to the United States in 1980, where they act as consultants to American businesses, government agencies, and public figures involved in China. In 1993, Rittenberg published his autobiography, The Man Who Stayed Behind. Formerly the Edward M. Bernstein Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, Rittenberg is currently Visiting Professor in China Studies at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma.
Autographed copies of The Man Who Stayed Behind will be available for purchase at the lecture.
Teaching, learning forum set for Jan. 23
“Looking at your Teaching through Different Lenses: Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher” is the title of the winter quarter Forum on Teaching and Learning, scheduled for 3:30 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23 in the Walker-Ames Room, Kane.
The forum speaker is Stephen Brookfield, distinguished professor at the University of St. Thomas and author or editor of nine books on adult learning, teaching and critical thinking, three of which have won the Cyril O. Houle World Award for Literature in Adult Education. His 1999 book, Discussion as a Way of Teaching, was an Educational Studies Association Critics Choice that year. In 2001 he won the Leadership Award from the Association for Continuing Higher Education for his extraordinary contributions to continuing education at the national and international level.
To attend the forum, RSVP by sending your name and department to rsvp@cidr.washington.edu. The forum is co-sponsored by the Center for Instructional Development and Research, The Graduate School, The Teaching Academy and the Faculty Council on Instructional Quality (FCIQ).
Directories available at UW copy locations
The 2002 UW Directory is available through University Stores, item # UWDIRCT, for $3.
Directories may be purchased with cash for $5 at Copy Centers and at Publications Services. Directories may also be purchased through the mail for $10 (price includes a handling and postage fee) from Publications Services, 206-543-8757.
