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Crosslistings: EAST 324 |
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Crosslistings: EAST 324 |
This seminar challenges students to wrestle with the old - but ever urgent - problem of truth. In the past few decades, historians as well as the public at large moved away from a focused concern with this issue,
assuming
that varieties of discourse account for varying versions of reality. Now, in the wake of the momentous traumas and deceits of the 20th century, it may be possible to return to the question of truth with a new sense of
urgency
and clarity. Chinese culture and historians are part of this world wide current of concern with veracity. The seminar will use voices from the Chinese past to sharpen and contextualize the question we ask about the role
of
truth seeking and the craft of history. Zhu Guanqian, (1897-1987), for example, was a philosopher and survivor of the Cultural Revolution who wrote passionately about the importance of historical truth:
Water
flows and
history moves on. History brings the present into the past. The past is never fully gone, just like fruits that grow from seed, the future is embedded in previous times. The present moment is significant because it
includes
both past and future. Confucius said that he did not regret dying in the evening provided he had come to know the truth in the morning. The most important thing is to know the truth.
COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion
Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS HIST Grading Mode: Graded
Prerequisites: NONE
Last Updated on MAR-30-2006
Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459