A forum assembly at Brigham Young University on Tuesday, Nov. 7 will feature Jonathan D. Spence, Yale University Sterling Professor of History, speaking on “China Right Now: Does the Past Matter?” at 11:05 a.m. in the Marriott Center.
A native of England, Spence received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Cambridge and both his master’s and doctoral degrees from Yale. He began teaching at Yale in 1965.
He was named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1985 and three years later was appointed to the Council of Scholars at the Library of Congress. Spence was honored by the Queen of England in 2001 as a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, and he served as president of the American Historical Association for the 2004-2005 term.
Spence has written extensively on the role of history in shaping modern China. His books include “The Death of Woman Wang” (1978), “The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci” (1984) and “God’s Chinese Son” (1994). His critically-acclaimed “The Search for Modern China” has become one of the standard texts on the last several hundred years of Chinese history. His recent books include a biography of Mao Zedong.
For more information, contact Joan Naumann at (801) 422-4331.
Writer: Brooke Eddington
