Remembering an extraordinary scholar and public intellectual: Jim Zwick.Jim Zwick, legendary Twain scholar, American Studies scholar, and public intellectual, died peacefully at his home outside of Syracuse, New York
Syracuse (IPA: , on January 24, 2008, as the result of complications from diabetes. He was 51. Speaking personally, I have lost one of the most generous friends and colleagues I ever had. American Studies and Twain Studies have lost one of the most insightful, original and important voices of our time. Jim Zwick's groundbreaking contributions to American Studies and Twain Studies are legion. His 1992 book, Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire: Anti-Imperialist Writings on the Philippine-American War Philippine-American War or Philippine Insurrection (1899–1902) War between the U.S. and Filipino revolutionaries, which may be seen as a continuation of the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule. , made available in one impressive volume texts that had been largely recondite before, and analyses of Twain's anti-imperialism that had not been salient in Twain in halves; into two parts; asunder. See also: Twain criticism before Jim laid them out for us. (It is interesting that his book pre-dated The Cultures of U.S. Imperialism, edited by Kaplan and Pease--testimony to Jim's always being ahead of the curve.) That this landmark book has long been out of print has been a constant frustration for Twain scholars around the world. (1) Jim pioneered in recognizing the ways in which the Internet could be a major boon to scholarship and education, developing the first major Twain-focused site on the web. He was one of the first scholars to bring together e-texts, criticism, and visual images on the web in a manner that made them instantly available to anyone with access to the Internet. He started doing this back in 1994, when few of us could imagine the future that he was already mapping. Jim's sites devoted to Mark Twain on the Philippines and Mark Twain Resources on the World Wide Web were opened to the public in January 1995. His site on Anti-imperialism in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , 1898-1935, was opened to the public in March 1995 (one reviewer noted the "astonishingly a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. rich collection of material" the site provided, adding that it included seven full-length novels, countless poems and short stories, over 50 anti-imperialist essays, speeches, and pamphlets from the years 1898 and 1899 alone, etc. "One particularly fascinating section presents a treasure trove TREASURE TROVE. Found treasure. 2. This name is given to such money or coin, gold, silver, plate, or bullion, which having been hidden or concealed in the earth or other private place, so long that its owner is unknown, has been discovered by accident. of documents related to the African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. experience in the anti-imperialist movement. Another collects articles, cartoons, and other sources related to the American pursuit of a canal through either Nicaragua or Panama.... All of these collections are contextualized with short, useful introductory essays by Zwick" (2)). Zwick's Sentenaryo/Centennial: The Philippine Revolution Philippine Revolution (1896–98) Filipino independence struggle that failed to end Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines. There had been numerous quasi-religious uprisings during the more than 300 years of colonial rule, but the late 19th-century writings of Jose and Philippine American War went live in September 1997. From March 1997 through September 2001, he created and ran the Mark Twain site at About.com. In February 1999, he consolidated his many writings into the widely-cited BoondocksNet.com, adding material involving the Congo reform movement; the Progressive-Era campaign to end child labor child labor, use of the young as workers in factories, farms, and mines. Child labor was first recognized as a social problem with the introduction of the factory system in late 18th-century Great Britain. ; political cartoons and cartoonists; world's fairs This is a list of world's fairs, a comprehensive chronological list of world's fairs (with notable permanent buildings built). For an annotated list of all world's fairs sanctioned by the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) see List of world expositions. and expositions; and other topics at the intersections of political, social, and cultural history. His sites enriched college syllabi syl·la·bi n. A plural of syllabus. and reading lists at universities around the world. In 2000, he ran Mark Twain's popular posthumous online campaign for the presidency. Jim closed his web sites in August 2007. His print publications continue to be available, however. Over the last decade he continued to publish important work on Twain and imperialism, both on the web, and also in Vestiges of War: The Philippine-American War and the Aftermath of an Imperial Dream, 1899-1999, edited by Angel Velasco Shaw and Luis Francia (NYU NYU New York University NYU New York Undercover (TV show) , 2002), in the Oxford Historical Guide to Mark Twain (OUP OUP (in Northern Ireland) Official Unionist Party , 2002), and elsewhere. He broke new ground again in 2006 in his eye-opening book, Inuit Entertainers in the United States: from the Chicago World's Fair Chicago has hosted two World's Fairs
world's fair Specially constructed attraction showcasing the science, technology, and culture of participating countries and enterprises. to Hollywood, and her daughter Columbia, a World's Fair baby born at Chicago in 1893, who wrote and starred in the first Hollywood film with a credited Inuit cast. Jim continued to come up with illuminating insights in his most recent book, Confronting Imperialism: Essays on Mark Twain and the Anti-Imperialist League (Infinity, 2007), a book which analyzes Twain's writings on the Philippine-American War--a war Twain called "a mess, a quagmire"--and explores their continuing relevance today. In his Preface, Jim observes that The U.S. Military's use of waterboarding began during the Philippine-American War. Euphemistically called the "water cure," it was said to be a form of torture the U.S. Military "inherited" from the Spanish. They had used it since the Inquisition. In his 1902 essay "A Defense of General Funston," Mark Twain wrote, "Funston's example has bred many imitators, and many ghastly additions to our history: the torturing of Filipinos by the awful 'water-cure,' for instance, to make them confess--what? Truth? Or lies? How can one know which it is they are telling? For under unendurable pain a man confesses anything that is required of him, true or false, and his evidence is worthless." Mark Twain and other anti-imperialists were protesting the U.S. military's use of waterboarding and other forms of torture one hundred years before their recent use in the "war on terror." (xii) A bibliography of his many publications appears at the end of this piece. Jim served on the Executive Committee of the Mark Twain Circle of America, the Editorial Advisory Board of American Studies Asia, and the Advisory Board of H-Amstdy, a member list of HNet Humanities & Social Sciences Online that provides a forum for research and teaching in the field of American Studies. He has also worked as a consultant on documentary films (including Ken Burns' Mark Twain) and on educational uses of the Internet. Jim was a public intellectual of the highest order who was as adept at publishing informative and persuasive opinion pieces in major newspapers as he was at crafting scholarly articles in academic journals in the U.S., Canada, the Philippines, and the U.K. He was admired around the world by scholars indebted to his work. In 2006, the Japanese journal Mark Twain Studies dedicated a hundred-page international forum on "The War-Prayer" to Jim, noting that "'New Perspectives on "The War-Prayer": an International Forum' honors the achievements of Jim Zwick, whose pioneering work on Twain's anti-imperialist writings and on the anti-imperialist movement in general--both in print and on the web--has played such a crucial, illuminating role." (3) (The forum on "The War-Prayer" will be reprinted in the "Reprise re·prise n. 1. Music a. A repetition of a phrase or verse. b. A return to an original theme. 2. A recurrence or resumption of an action. tr.v. " section of the Journal of Transnational American Studies, a new online, open-access journal that will begin publication this fall: http://repositories.cdlib.org/ acgcc/jtas/). Jim Zwick's scholarship was exemplary--a model of accuracy and empathy that inspired scholars everywhere to mine the archives for the hidden stories that mattered, and to tell those stories in language that was compelling and clear. But his personal generosity as a scholar was at least as remarkable as the lapidary lap·i·dar·y n. pl. lap·i·dar·ies 1. One who cuts, polishes, or engraves gems. 2. A dealer in precious or semiprecious stones. adj. 1. writing he produced. I'm sure that many of you had occasion to encounter his many special qualities: his willingness to answer questions, point you to relevant readings, provide images, and generally be helpful in any way he could any time he was asked; a passion for social justice that infused everything he did along with a visceral hatred of racism and prejudice; a dedication to mining history for insights that could illuminate the present; a refusal to be distracted by pettiness or jealousy or even ego; a naturally eloquent and compelling writing style that was probably shaped by all that time he spent reading Mark Twain. The obituary that ran in the Hartford Courant Cou`rant´ a. 1. (Her.) Represented as running; - said of a beast borne in a coat of arms. n. 1. A piece of music in triple time; also, a lively dance; a coranto. 2. noted that Jim had lived in Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. during the 1970s, and that his language skills allowed him to travel extensively in the People's Republic People's Republic n. A political organization founded and controlled by a national Communist party. of China in 1979, long before the current openness. Jim later traveled in the Philippines, was active with the organization, The Friends of the Filipino People, and edited that organization's publication, the Friends of the Filipino People Bulletin, from 1989 to 1994. Jim earned a BA from Earlham College in 1981 and an MA in Comparative Politics and World History at Syracuse University, where he subsequently did post-graduate work and taught classes. He also served as Associate Director of the Connecticut Food Bank The Connecticut Food Bank is a food bank headquartered in East Haven, Connecticut. According to their motto, the bank's sole mission is to "alleviate hunger." External links
In addition to serving on the Executive Committee of the Mark Twain Circle, Jim participated in Twain Circle conference sessions, such as a panel at the MLA MLA abbr. Modern Language Association MLA n abbr (BRIT POL) (= Member of the Legislative Assembly) → miembro de la asamblea legislativa MLA (Brit in San Francisco in 1998 on "The Author as Public Intellectual." He attended the 2005 conference sponsored by the Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College (the photo on this page was taken there by Twain scholar Mariko Takashima). Jim attended Wethersfield High School Wethersfield High School is the only high school in Wethersfield, Connecticut, United States, and has won many awards for excellence. Facilities Wethersfield High has a 37 acre campus. and the Shanti Shanti (from Sanskrit शािन्त śāntiḥ) can mean:
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , NY 10118 (www.hrw.org/donations). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jim Zwick Bibliography Print Publications Confronting Imperialism: Essays on Mark Twain and the Anti-Imperialist League (West Conshohocken, Pa.: Infinity Publishing, 2007). Inuit Entertainers in the United States: From the Chicago World's Fair through the Birth of Hollywood (West Conshohocken, Pa.: Infinity Publishing, 2006). "Inuit Entertainers in the United States," a five-part series published in Them Days (Labrador): "The Chicago World's Fair and Its Aftermath, 1892-1896," 29 (Summer 2005): 3-16. "Esther Eneutseak and the Exposition Tour of 1900-1902," 30 (Fall 2005): 4-18. "Coney Island and the 1904 World's Fair" 30:3 (2006): 32-42. "Making Exposition and Hollywood History" 30:4 (2006): 17-25. "Hollywood's First 'Real Eskimos'" 31:1 (2007): 19-27. "Mark Twain's Anti-Imperialism, Then and Now." Reframing reframing (rē·frāˑ·ming), n the revisiting and reconstruction of a patient's view of an experience to imbue it with a different usually more positive meaning in the the Issues: Contemporary Essays in Peace Studies, ed. Caroline Higgins (Richmond, Ind.: Earlham College Press, 2004), 47-53. "Behind the Song: Bread and Roses." Sing Out! 46 (Winter 2003): 92-93. "Mark Twain's Anti-Imperialist Writings in the 'American Century.'" In Vestiges of War: The Philippine-American War and the Aftermath of an Imperial Dream, 1899-1999, ed. Angel Velasco Shaw and Luis H. Francia (New York: New York Univ. Press, 2002), 38-56. "Mark Twain and Imperialism." In A Historical Guide to Mark Twain, ed. Shelley Fisher Fishkin (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 227-255. "Foreword." In The Story of the Lopez Family (Manila: Platypus platypus (plăt`əpəs), semiaquatic egg-laying mammal, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, of Tasmania and E Australia. Also called duckbill, or duckbilled platypus, it belongs to the order Monotremata (see monotreme), the most primitive group Publishing, 2001), 5-13. "The Anti-Imperialist Movement, 1898-1921." In Whose America? The War of 1898 and the Battles to Define the Nation, ed. Virginia M. Bouvier Bouvier refers to several things:
"The 'Stereoscopic' War of 1899." In Voices and Scenes of the Past: The Philippine-American War Retold re·told v. Past tense and past participle of retell. , ed. Maria Serena I. Diokno (Quezon City: The Jose W. Diokno Foundation, 1999), 1-5. "Mark Twain's Opposition to United States Imperialism: A Centennial Perspective," BU Bulletin (Bicol University, Legazpi City, Philippines), Oct. 1998-Jan. 1999. "The Anti-Imperialist League and the Origins of Filipino-American Oppositional Solidarity." Amerasia Journal 24:2 (Summer 1998): 65-85. "Mark Twain and the Single Tax Movement." The Georgist Journal No. 87 (Summer 1997): 510. "'Prodigally Endowed With Sympathy for the Cause': Mark Twain's Involvement with the Anti-Imperialist League." Mark Twain Journal 32 (Spring 1994): 2-25 (mailed spring 1997). Enl. and rev. version of article first published in Ephemera e·phem·er·a n. A plural of ephemeron. ephemera Noun, pl items designed to last only for a short time, such as programmes or posters Noun 1. Journal 5 (1992): 50-68. "William Dean Howells and the Anti-Imperialist League." Mark Twain Journal 32 (Spring 1994): 25-26 (mailed spring 1997). "An Empire Is Not a Frontier: Mark Twain's Opposition to United States Imperialism." Over Here: Reviews in American Studies 15 (Summer-Winter 1995): 58-70. "Sitting in Darkness: An Unheeded Message About U.S. Militarism Militarism See also Soldiering. Adrastus leader of the Seven against Thebes. [Gk. Myth.: Iliad] Siegfried killed many enemies; led many troops to victory. [Ger. Lit. Nibelungenlied] ." Baltimore Sun (April 23, 1995), J1, J6. Also distributed by the Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Morning daily newspaper. Established in 1881, it was purchased and incorporated in 1884 by Harrison Gray Otis (1837–1917) under The Times-Mirror Co. (the hyphen was later dropped from the name). Wire Service. "Mark Twain, William Dean Howells, and the Anti-Imperialist League, 1899-1920." In Proceedings of the 1994 Maxwell Colloquium col·lo·qui·um n. pl. col·lo·qui·ums or col·lo·qui·a 1. An informal meeting for the exchange of views. 2. An academic seminar on a broad field of study, usually led by a different lecturer at each meeting. (Syracuse: Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs is according to U.S. News & World Report the leading [1] public policy school offering master degrees in Public Affairs in the United States. , Syracuse Univ., 1995), 105110. Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire: Anti-Imperialist Writings on the Philippine-American War, Editor (Syracuse: Syracuse Univ. Press, 1992; Philippine edition, Manila: Popular Book Store, 1994). "An American Anti-Imperialist: Mark Twain on the Philippine-American War," Filipinas Magazine (Sept. 1992), 50-54. "Mark Twain on American Imperialism" (Excerpts from Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire, cover story), Atlantic Monthly 269 (April 1992): 4965. "Who Wrote the Couplet couplet Two successive lines of verse. A couplet is marked usually by rhythmic correspondence, rhyme, or the inclusion of a self-contained utterance. Couplets may be independent poems, but they usually function as parts of other verse forms, such as the Shakespearean sonnet, ? Textual Variants in Mark Twain's 'Salutation to the Twentieth Century,'" Mark Twain Journal 27 (Spring 1989): 34-39 (mailed Sept. 1991). "Imperialists & Anti-Imperialists: The Roots of American Non-Intervention Movements," Nonviolent Activist, War Resisters League (March 1991), 11-12. "Militarization mil·i·ta·rize tr.v. mil·i·ta·rized, mil·i·ta·riz·ing, mil·i·ta·riz·es 1. To equip or train for war. 2. To imbue with militarism. 3. To adopt for use by or in the military. in the Philippines: From Consolidation to Crisis," Philippine Research Bulletin 1:2-3 (Fall/Spring 1984-1985): 5-9. "Militarism and Repression in the Philippines," in Michael Stohl and George A. Lopez, eds., The State as Terrorist: The Dynamics of Governmental Violence and Repression (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1984): 123142. Militarism and Repression in the Philippines, McGill Studies in International Development No. 31 (Montreal: Centre for Developing-Area Studies, McGill Univ., 1982). Documentary Films Two Bells/Two Worlds. Directed by Bernard Stone, 2002. Distributed by The Cinema Guild. (Pre-production consultant and on-screen on·screen or on-screen adj. & adv. 1. As shown on a movie, television, or display screen. 2. Within public view; in public. commentary.) Mark Twain. Directed by Ken Burns. Florentine Films, 2001. (Program advisor.) Electronic Publications Web Sites Inuit Entertainers in the United States. InuitEntertainers.com, Sept. 2006-Aug. 2007 (closed). HistoryIllustrated.com. Nov. 2004-Aug. 2007 (closed). Mark Twain for President. Twain2000.com & Twain2004.com, Sept. 1999-Dec. 2001 & April 2003-April 2005 (moved to BoondocksNet.com). BoondocksNet.com. Feb. 1999-July 2007 (moved to HistoryIllustrated.com). Mark Twain. About.com, March 1997-Sept. 2001 (moved to BoondocksNet.com). Sentenaryo/Centennial: The Philippine Revolution and Philippine-American War. Various domains, Sept. 1995-Feb. 1999 (moved to BoondocksNet.com). Anti-Imperialism in the United States, 1898-1935. Various domains, March 1995-Feb. 1999 (moved to BoondocksNet.com). Mark Twain Resources on the World Wide Web. Various domains, Jan. 1995-Feb. 1999 (moved to About.com and BoondocksNet.com). Mark Twain on the Philippines. Various domains, Jan.-March. 1995 (absorbed into Anti-Imperialism in the United States). Essays "Review: Manifest and Other Destinies: Territorial Fictions of the Nineteenth-Century United States, by Stephanie LeMenager," Mark Twain Forum (Twain-L@yorku.ca), March 16, 2005. "Review: Mark Twain, by Peter Messent," Mark Twain Forum (Twain-L@yorku.ca), Aug. 18, 1997. "Towards Critical Internationalism Within U.S.-Based American Studies." Interroads: International/Comparative Perspectives on the Study of American Culture (Interroads@home.ease.lsoft.com), Feb. 16, 1997. Solicited essay followed by responses by Mustafah Dhada, Sylvia Hilton, John Carlos Rowe, Dolores Dolores (or Delores) was a common given name (until the 1960s in the USA); it is cognate with the English word "dolorous" (meaning sorrowful) and equivalent in meaning. Janiewski, and E. San Juan Dr. E. San Juan Jr. was born in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. He received his PhD from Harvard University. He has written extensively on Post-Colonial theory etc. , Jr. "Remembering St. Louis, 1904: A World on Display and Bontoc Eulogy." American Studies List (H-Amstdy@msu.edu), March 2, 1996. "Review: Savage Acts: Wars, Fairs and Empire." American Studies List (H-Amstdy@msu.edu), Nov. 7, 1995. Shelley Fisher Fishkin Stanford University Notes (1.) This past November Jim wrote me that Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire would soon be back in print and available at Amazon.com--but he was still waiting for some permissions and anticipated that he probably wouldn't "be able to send the book in to be published until January." "It's funny that I'm already getting impatient with this only a few months after deciding to get it reprinted," he wrote. "The first edition took two years to make it into print. I got the photographic plates for that edition from the Press after they remaindered it. The new edition will be sent to the publisher as a PDF file. Publishing technology sure has changed." I do not know whether Jim was able to finalize the reprinting of the book before his death on January 24th. (2.) Matthew Karush, review of Jim Zwick's "AntiImperialism in the United States," October 2003 http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/d/192.html (accessed 3/15/08). (3.) Shelley Fisher Fishkin and Takayuki Tatsumi, eds. "New Perspectives on 'The War-Prayer'--An International Forum." Mark Twain Studies. [a publication of the Japan Mark Twain Society] Vol 2 (October 2006), 8. |
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