My friend is trying to turn me into an academic
I went to this speech/luncheon thing that's part of a series of academic type things promoting a new textbook on history and interaction between China, Korea, and Japan. Basically my friend Amanda invited me because it looked like quite a few people couldn't come and so I'd fill up a seat. This textbook is unusual in that it's co-written by 3 authors from each of the 3 countries. Apparently the Japanese author has recieved his share of threats from right wingers.
In any case, it was a really interesting talk. The speaker was a professor from Berkley holding some chair, and basically she said that existing textbooks and scholarship until recently under the communists about the WWII occupation of China by Japan was unreliable. On top of that, the reports themselves in newspapers but even records kept by the various factions are not totally reliable. Beyond all this, she noted that the Japanese were almost ignored except as 'the enemy', with the focus in China (and Taiwan) being more on the fighting in the civil war that was taking place at the same time.
All this was fascinating. This fits in with my basic belief that the absolute truth is unknowable. It appears that history itself is quite vauge and hard to pin down.
The only thing is, when I hear things like this, it gets me excited. I guess since I like this stuff I should become an academic, but on the other hand I don't want to be poor for the next 10 years either.
In other news, I cut my pinky finger pretty bad on Sunday, and have to go to a hand surgeon tomorrow. It's bandaged and not bleeding, but it's pretty disturbing to have an open wound (basically, I'm missing a chunk of skin so they couldn't sew it up), especially when I can see when I change the bandages something white in there that's either connective tissue or bone. At least it doesn't hurt. Only thing is it makes it hard to write and I have an essay test on Friday. Maybe I can do it on the computer?
So yeah, wheee, life is fun.
In any case, it was a really interesting talk. The speaker was a professor from Berkley holding some chair, and basically she said that existing textbooks and scholarship until recently under the communists about the WWII occupation of China by Japan was unreliable. On top of that, the reports themselves in newspapers but even records kept by the various factions are not totally reliable. Beyond all this, she noted that the Japanese were almost ignored except as 'the enemy', with the focus in China (and Taiwan) being more on the fighting in the civil war that was taking place at the same time.
All this was fascinating. This fits in with my basic belief that the absolute truth is unknowable. It appears that history itself is quite vauge and hard to pin down.
The only thing is, when I hear things like this, it gets me excited. I guess since I like this stuff I should become an academic, but on the other hand I don't want to be poor for the next 10 years either.
In other news, I cut my pinky finger pretty bad on Sunday, and have to go to a hand surgeon tomorrow. It's bandaged and not bleeding, but it's pretty disturbing to have an open wound (basically, I'm missing a chunk of skin so they couldn't sew it up), especially when I can see when I change the bandages something white in there that's either connective tissue or bone. At least it doesn't hurt. Only thing is it makes it hard to write and I have an essay test on Friday. Maybe I can do it on the computer?
So yeah, wheee, life is fun.