Visiting Assistant Professor Research Spotlight: Adam Schwartz

In addition to teaching undergraduate classes on Chinese-English translation and Confucius, I have spent this past semester continuing to focus my research on Early China at its historical origins. I have, in particular, been inspired by the approach to the operation of interpretation by early church figures like Origen  (182-254) and the medieval Jewish commentator Rashi (c. 1040-1105) who believed that enigmatic meanings lie hidden in the details, and that breaking through the shell of a word, sentence, or expression would reveal clues to illuminate them. My most recent paper reappraises the etymology and primary meaning of the Chinese word for G-d (Di 帝) in light of recently unearthed documents and through an analysis of the principles behind the invention of deictic pictographs (zhishi wenzi 指事文字), a unique sub-class of pictographs that emphasize minute details.

This summer I plan to complete the final draft version of my book manuscript on Oracle Bone Inscriptions, to be published by NYU Press and the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, and to spend time on the boardwalk and the beach at home in south Atlantic City, NJ.