CHARLES F. McKHANN
Curriculum Vitæ
Professor
Department of Anthropology
Whitman College
Walla Walla, WA 99361
(509) 527-5798
Email: mckhann@whitman.edu
Education:
Whitman College
B.A. in Anthropology and Geology, 1979
Yale University
Chinese language training, Summer 1981
Middlebury College
Chinese language training, Summer 1982
University of Chicago
M.A. in Social Sciences, 1983
Ph.D. in Anthropology, 1992
Awards and Honors:
B.A. Thesis, passed with distinction, 1979
Whitman in China Teaching Fellowship, 1982-83
Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowship, 1985-86
University of Chicago, Center for East Asian Studies Dissertation Fellowship, 1988-89
Woodrow Wilson Foundation, Charlotte Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, 1989-90
Whitman College, Perry Scholars Research Award, 1996
Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, Regular Grant, 1996
Whitman College, Perry Scholars Research Award, 2001
Yunnan Province Caiyun Award for distinguished foreign experts, 2001
Freeman Foundation Undergraduate Asian Studies Funding Initiative Grant, 2002-03
Whitman Faculty International Teaching and Research Award, 2005-06
Abshire Research Scholar Award, fall 2007
Theses and Dissertations:
B.A.: "The Cultural Ecology of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier", 1979.
M.A.: "The Responsibility System in Chinese Agriculture: Some Implications for the Future", 1983
Ph.D.: "Fleshing out the Bones: Kinship and Cosmology in Naqxi Religion", 1992.
Field Research Experience:
Sept. 1982-July 1983: M.A. Thesis Research (Kunming, China)
Jan. 1986-May 1987, Autumn 1988: Ph. D. Dissertation Research (Lijiang, China)
Summer 1991, Summer 1992: Research on Naxi Marriage and Love Songs (Lijiang, China)
Feb.-Dec. 1996: Research on the Cultural History of Tibeto-Burman Peoples of the Sino-Tibetan Borderland (Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces)
Summer 1999: Research on the Development of Tourism in Lijiang, China
Summer 2000: Research on Tibetan expatriates in Switzerland
Summer 2001: Ethnographic Video Project on Tourism Development in Yunnan, China
Spring 2006: Religion and Development Among Naxi of Southern Sichuan
Specializations:
Anthropology and History
Kinship and Social Organization
Symbolic Anthropology
Anthropology of Religion
Chinese Society and Culture
Religion in China
Ethnology and History of Tibeto-Burman Peoples
Ethnicity in China
Languages:
English: native speaker
Chinese (Mandarin): reading – good, writing – good, speaking – fluent
Naxi: speaking – fair, reading (pictographic ritual texts) – fair
Professional Memberships:
American Anthropological Association
Association for Asian Studies
International Naxi Studies Association
Academic Positions and Teaching Experience:
Visiting Lecturer in Foreign Languages and Literatures, Yunnan University (P. R. China), 1982-83
Visiting Lecturer in Anthropology and the Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington, Spring 1989
Lecturer in Anthropology, 1990-92
Assistant Professor of Anthropology, 1992-1996
Associate Professor of Anthropology, 1996-2006
Professor of Anthropology, 2006-present
Director of Asian Studies, 1994-1998, 2001-2006
Chair, Dept. of Anthropology, 1998-2006
Visiting Professor of Anthropology, Macalester College, 2006-2007
Visiting Professor of History, Hamline University, Spring 2007
Courses:
Language and Culture
Anthropology and History
Kinship and Social Organization
History and Theory in Anthropology
Anthropology of Religion
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Chinese Society and Culture
Peoples of the Tibeto-Burman Highlands
Religion in China
Anthropology and Ethnicity in China
Visual Anthropology
Publications:
1989 "Fleshing out the Bones: The Cosmic and Social Dimensions of Space in Naxi Architecture", in Chien Chiao and Nicholas Tapp (eds.), Ethnicity and Ethnic Groups in China, New Asia Academic Bulletin, v.8, The Chinese University, Hong Kong.
1991 "Gu yu Rou: Naxi Chuantong Jianzhu Kongjian Jiegouzhong Tixian de Yuzhouguan he Shehui Guanxi", in Dongba Wenhua Lun Ji, v.2, Yunnan People’s Press, Kunming.
1993a "Naxi Zongjiao Gaikuang", in Yu Long Shan, 1993:5:59-63
1993b “Naxi Zongjiao Zonglun”, in Yang Fuquan and Bai Gensheng (eds.), Guoji Dongba Wenhua Yanjiu Ji Cui, Yunnan People’s Press, Kunming.
1993c “Lun Ji Tian Yishi de Shijian Anpai he Canyu Renyuan”, in Yang Fuquan and Bai Gensheng (eds.), Guoji Dongba Wenhua Yanjiu Ji Cui , Yunnan People’s Press, Kunming.
1994 "Naxi", in Paul Freidrich and Norma Diamond (eds.), Encyclopedia of World Cultures, v. VI, G.K. Hall and Co., Boston.
1995 "The Naxi and the Nationalities Question", in Stevan Harrell (ed.), Cultural Encounters on China's Ethnic Frontiers, University of Washington Press, Seattle.
1998 “Naxi, Rerkua, Moso, Meng: Kinship, Politics and Ritual on the Yunnan-Sichuan Frontier”, in M. Oppitz and E. Hsu (eds.), Naxi and Moso Ethnography, University of Zurich Press, Zurich.
2000 “Naxi he Moso de Qinshu Zhidu yu qi Wenhua” (Kinship and Culture Among the Naxi, Moso, and Neighboring Cultural Groups”, in Yunnan Shehui Kexue (Social Sciences in Yunnan) 2000, no. 4, p. 65-71.
2001a “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Observations and Reflections on Tourism Development in Lijiang, China”, in Tang Chee Beng, Sidney Cheung and Yang Hui (eds.), Tourism, Anthropology, and China, White Lotus Press, Bangkok, p.147-166.
2001b “Tourisme de masse et identité sur les marches sino-tibétaines: Réflexiones d’un observateur”, in Anthropologie et Sociétés 25:2:35-54.
2003a “Zhongguo Xinan Diqu Naxizu yu Zangzu de Zongjiao Jiaowang Huodong”, in Gan Xuechun (ed.), Perspectives from the Other Side of the Ocean: Western Chinese Minority Cultures in the Eyes of American Scholars, Yunnan People’s Press, Kunming, p.234-243.
2003b “Dui Zhongguo Lijiang Luyouye Fazhan de Guancha yu Sikao”, in Gan Xuechun (ed.), Perspectives from the Other Side of the Ocean: Western Chinese Minority Cultures in the Eyes of American Scholars, Yunnan People’s Press, Kunming, p.244-260.
2003c “Introduction”, in McKhann, Charles F., Yang Fuquan, and Zhang Yunling (eds.), Icon and Tranformation: (Re)Imaginings in Dongba Art, Sheehan Gallery Press, Walla Walla.
2003d “Making Icon and Transformation: Reflections on a Process”, in McKhann, Charles F., Yang Fuquan, and Zhang Yunling (eds.), Icon and Tranformation: (Re)Imaginings in Dongba Art, Sheehan Gallery Press, Walla Walla.
2003e “Sacred Trails: Genealogical Mapping and the Creation of Historical Space among the Naxi of Southwest China”, in Histoire et Anthropologie Asies, no. 2 (“Identity and Religion”.
2005/2006 “Taming the Dragon: The Search for Sustainable Tourism in Southwest China”, in International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability, v.1.
Reviews:
1991 Review of Schechner and Appel (eds.), By Means of Performance: Intercultural Studies of Theatre and Ritual, in Journal of Asian Studies 50:3:652-54.
2001 Review of Louisa Schein, Minority Rules: The Miao and the Feminine in China’s Cultural Politics, in Journal of Asian Studies 60:3:845-846.
2001 Review of M.C. Goldstein and M.T. Kapstein (eds.), Buddhism in Contemporary Tibet: Religious Revival and Cultural Identity, in Journal of Religion 81:4:695-96 (Oct. 2001).
2002 Review of Mette Hansen, Lessons in Being Chinese: Minority Education and Ethnic Identity in Southwest China, in Anthropos 97:1:257-58.
2003a Review of Cai Hua, A Society Without Fathers or Husbands: The Na of China, in Journal of Asian Studies 62:1:225-227.
2003b Review of Erik Mueggler, The Age of Wild Ghosts: Memory, Violence, and Place in Southwest China, in The China Journal 49:194-196 (Jan. 2003)
2003c Review of Nancy N. Chen, Constance D. Clark, Suzanne Z. Gottschang, and Lyn Jeffery (eds.), China Urban: Ethnographies of Contemporary Culture, in Journal of Anthropological Research 59:382-385.
2007 Review of Du, Shanshan, Chopsticks Only Work in Pairs: Gender Unity and Gender Equality Among the Lahu of Southwest China, Anthropos 102:255-256.
n.d. Review of Heberer, Thomas, Doing Business in Rural China: Liangshan’s New Ethnic Entrepreneurs, in The China Quarterly (forthcoming).
Presented Papers:
1988 "Naxi-Han History and the Transformation of the Sacrifice to Heaven Ritual", Panel on “Ethnicity, Identity, and the State in China: Field Research on Minorities in China’s Border Worlds”, Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Phoenix, Nov. 1988
1991 "Lord George Macartney and the Ch'ien-lung Emperor: Early Relations Between Empire and Nation-State", Whitman College, Spring 1991
1992 "Han Images of China's Minority Nationalities in Historical Perspective"; University of Pittsburgh, Anthropology Dept. Seminar, Fall 1992
1993 "Religion, Art and the Politics of Ethnicity: Naxi Religion in the People's Republic of China", Panel on “Religion and Politics: Theory and Practice”, Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Wash.,D.C., Nov. 1993
1994 "The Good, The Bad, and the Other: Representations of Identity and Difference in Naxi Ritual and Myth", Panel on “Perceptions of Identity and Difference Among the Nationalities of Yunnan Province, China”, Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies, Boston, March 1994
1995a “Religious Interactions Between Naxi and Tibetans in Southwest China”, Panel on “Religious Interactions on the Periphery of the Tibetan State”, Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies, April 1995
1995b “Thinking Kinship: Land, Power and Ethnicity on the Sino-Tibetan Frontier”, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, Dept. of Anthropology, March 1995
1997a “The Left-Handed Kowtow: Naxi Mythic Versions of Naxi-Han-Tibetan-Mongol Relations”, Panel on “The Ethnic Other in Ethnographic Narration, Part 2: Non-Han Perspectives”, Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies, Chicago, March 1997.
1997b “From Religious to Commodity Fetish: Dongba Art in the Time of Deng”, co-authored with Maria Mussler, Panel on “Processes of Cultural Adaptation and Assimilation: Insights and Examples from China’s 20th Century”, Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies, Chicago, March 1997.
1997c “Marriage Ritual and Marriage Practice in Four Naxi Communities”, Workshop on “Life-Crisis Rites and Personhood: Research on Ethnic Groups in Southwest China”, Academia Sinica, Institute of Ethnology, Taipei, May 1997.
1998a "Rhymes and Reasons: The Poetics of Naxi Kinship", invited lecture, Völkerkundemuseum, Universität Zürich, Feb. 3, 1998.
1998b "Travels with Dongba A'lo: The Study and Practice of Naxi Religion in Post-Mao China", invited lecture, Völkerkundemuseum, Universität Zürich , Feb. 7, 1998.
1998c "Naxi, Reekua, Moso, Meng: Kinship, Politics and Ritual on the Yunnan-Sichuan Frontier" (Chinese language version), Second International Conference on Yi Studies, University of Trier (Germany), June 19-23, 1998.
1999a “Houses and Spouses: Kinship, Class, and State on the Yun-Gui Plateau”, Workshop on Kinship and Economy on the Yun-Gui Plateau, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 19-21 May, 1999.
1999b “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Some Preliminary Observations on Tourism Development in Lijiang”, International Conference on Tourism, Anthropology and Chinese Society, Kunming, 28 Sept. to 1 Oct. 1999.
2000a “The Impact of Rapid Tourism Development on a Minority Nationality Area in Southwest China: Lijiang, Yunnan”, invited lecture, Centre Chine, l’Ecole des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris, 10 May 2000.
2000b “The Great Naxi-Moso Kinship Debate”, invited lecture, Dept. of Anthropology, Université Paris X--Nanterre, 12 May 2000.
2000c “Politics and Ethnicity on the Sino-Tibetan Frontier”, invited lecture, Dept. of Anthropology, Université Paris X--Nanterre, 19 May 2000.
2000d “Sacred Trails: Genealogical Mapping and the Creation of Historical Space among the Naxi of Southwest China”; Annual Meeting of the American Society for Ethnohistory, Plenary Session on “Histories and Historicities of China’s Minority Peoples”, 19 October 2000, London, Ontario, Canada.
2000e “Fashions of Tourism and the Re-fashioning of Naxi Cultural Identity”, Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Panel on ‘Narratives of Modernity in Yunnan: The Politics of Cultural Identities at the Periphery of the Socialist Chinese State’, 19 November 2000, San Francisco.
2001 “Constructing China’s Nationalities Through Film: The Use of Ethnographic Documentary in the Nationalities Identification Project of the 1950-60s”, Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, panel on “Cultural Representations, East and West’, 2 December 2001, Washington, D.C.
2003 “Tourism and the Efflorescence of ‘Dongba Culture’ in Southwest China”, Annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association, panel on ‘Heritage and Nostalgia in the Production of East Asian Tradition”, 20 November 2003, Chicago.
2004a “Scaling the Dragon: The Making of a Mountain in Southwest China”, Annual meeting of the American Society for Environmental History, poster session, March 31-April 4, 2004, Victoria, B.C.
2004b “Religion and Visual Arts in Northern Yunnan: Processes Along the Sino-Tibetan Frontier”, invited paper, at “Yunnan China: Cultural Connections Along the Mekong”, Connecticut College in collaboration with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, April 29-May 1, 2004.
2005a “Taming the Dragon: The Search for Sustainable Tourism in Southwest China”, presented at the International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability, East-West Center, University of Hawaii—Manoa, Feb. 24-27, 2005.
2005b “The Perils of Fame: UNESCO World Heritage Status, Tourism and Environment in Old Town Lijiang (Yunnan Province, China)”, a poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology, Santa Fe, New Mexico, April 5-10, 2005.
2005c “Man and Nature in the Naxi Dongba Religion”, invited lecture, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, Oct. 15, 2005.
2006a “Funerary Ritual Among the Naxi of Eya Township, Muli, Sichuan”, invited lecture presented at Beijing Foreign Languages University, Northwest Polytechnic University (Xi’an), Sichuan Ethnology Research Academy (Chengdu), Dongba Culture Research Academy (Lijiang), and Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences (Kunming); various dates April-June, 2006.
2006b “Taming the Dragon: The Search for Sustainable Tourism Development in Southwest China” (updated and revised version of 2005a), invited lecture, Norwegian Network for Asian Studies (Center for Development and the Environment), University of Oslo, Oct. 4, 2006.
2006c “Cultural Flows along the Upper Mekong River: Religion and Visual Arts in Northwest Yunnan Province”, Department of Asian Languages and Cultures seminar, Macalester College, Nov. 7, 2006.
2006d “Chinese Ethnographic Film in the Maoist Era”, film presentation and lecture, Spradley Society, Department of Anthropology, Macalester College, Dec. 7, 2006.
2007a “David Crockett Graham: An American Missionary Scientist in Sichuan, 1911-1948”, co-authored with Alan Waxman, paper presented at the Workshop on Explorers and Scientists at the Borders of China, 1880-1950; Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, Jan. 17-21, 2007.
2007b “Life After Mao: Converging Views on the Process of Liberalization in Small
Town Southwest China”—with Prof. Zhao Wencui, Olympia World Affairs Council (Olympia, WA; Oct. 18, 2007).
2007c “Religion in Southwest China: The Revival and Transformation of Naxi Dongba Practice”, annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Washington, D.C., Nov. 28-Dec. 2, 2007.
Exhibitions:
1997 "South of the Clouds: Ethnic Groups of the Sino-Tibetan Frontier (Objects and Photographs from the Collections of David Crockett Graham and Charles Fremont McKhann); co-curated with David Deal; Maxey Museum, Whitman College.
2003 “Icon and Transformation: (Re)Imaginings in Dongba Art”, co-curated with Zhang Yunling and Yang Fuquan; presented at Whitman College Sheehan Galley (Jan. 17-Feb. 27), Walla Walla Carnegie Center for the Arts (April 1-April 30), Multnomah County Library Collins Gallery (May 3-June 15), University of Washington School of Art Jacob Lawrence Gallery (July 1-July 30).