- DEPARTMENT FACULTYProf. Debra AmesProf. Karen BerrierProf. Jennifer BjornstadProf. Sarah DeMarisProf. Randa DuvickProf. Mark FarmerProf. Hoult-SarosProf. Frederick KavanaghProf. Michael KumpfProf. Timothy MalchowProf. Jianyun MengProf. Carlos Miguel-PueyoProf. Sally OchoaProf. Benjamin RidgwayProf. Rachel Rivers ParroquinProf. Angela TaraskiewiczProf. Timothy TomasikProf. Nelly Zamora-Breckenridge
- FACULTY PROFILE
Prof. Benjamin Ridgway, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Chinese
Meier Hall 146
219.464.5069
benjamin.ridgway@valpo.eduBiography
EDUCATION
Ph.D. -- University of Michigan
RESEARCH INTERESTS: Chinese poetry of the Song dynasty
My area of specialization is Chinese poetry of the Song dynasty (960-1279). More broadly I am interested in the intersections between geography and literature. My dissertation research was on the interaction between practices of official travel during the Song dynasty and imagined travel through memory and the historical past in the song lyrics of Su Shi (1037-1101). Recently, I have begun work on a cultural history of the city of Hangzhou during the 12th and 13th centuries, a period of massive population displacement from North to South, examining the city through a range of genres, including song lyrics, shi poetry, local gazetteers, strange tales, maps, as well as painting.
RECENT PRESENTATIONS, PUBLICATIONS, AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
• Contributed entries for two Song dynasty poets, Su Shi and Xin Qiji (1140-1270), as well as an entry on the song lyric genre to the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China, ed. Linsun Cheng (Berkshire Publishing Group, forthcoming).
• In Spring 2007 presented the paper "Strange Tales of Two Cities: The Movement of Populations and Memories between Kaifeng and Hangzhou in 12th century China" at the Annual Association for Asian Studies Conference held in Boston, MA.
• In Spring 2005 presented the paper "Restoration Aesthetics: The Reception of Su Shi's Song Lyrics (Ci) by Early Southern Song (1127-1279) Literati" at the Annual Association for Asian Studies Conference held in Chicago, IL.
• In Summer 2004 presented the paper "Two Frameworks for Remembrance: Travelers in the Song Lyrics (Ci) of Liu Yong (987-1053) and Su Shi (1037-1101)" at the Asian Studies Conference Japan (ASCJ) hosted by Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan.
• In Spring 2003 presented a paper in Chinese while studying at the International Chinese Language Program in Taipei, Taiwan, entitled, "Dreams and Historical Reverie in the Song Lyrics (Ci) of Su Dongpo (1037-1101)"
• Coordinated the Chinese Film Series for the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Michigan for four semesters as a graduate student, designing theme-based films series, contacting film distributors, and introducing the films to the public. I look forward to participating in Valpo's International Film Series organized by faculty members of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.