Harriet Cornelia Mills
Harriet Cornelia Mills (2 April 1920 – 5 March 2016) was a scholar and professor of
Biography
Harriet C. Mills was born in Tokyo, where her parents were
In 1947, Mills went to China on a
Mills was arrested in July 1951 at the same time as several other foreigners, including
She later told a group of students at University of Michigan how she gradually came to identify with her captors. A major reason for this identification was teaching basic literacy to the women in her cell who had been imprisoned for petty theft, prostitution, or for family connections with the
In 1959, Mills began her teaching career at Columbia University, and in 1960 she became an associate professor of Chinese.[2]
Later in her career, she completed a second MA degree in linguistics at the University of Michigan.
In 1966, Mills became an associate professor of Chinese at the University of Michigan. In 1974, she became professor of Chinese language and Literature at the Department of Far Eastern Languages and Literatures (today the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures). She retired in 1990.[2]
Mills specialized in modern Chinese literature and published a widely used Chinese language textbook.[2][9]
Mills died at the age of 95. She is survived by her sister Angie.[1]
Works (selection)
Books
- Intermediate Reader in Modern Chinese, 3 vols. Cornell University Press, 1967 (with P. S. Ni).
Articles
- "Language Reform in China: Some Recent Developments."The Far Eastern Quarterlyvol.15.4 (1 August 1956), pp. 517–540.
- "Reflections on a Missionary Childhood," The China Connection (issue?), pp. 182ff.
- "Thought Reform: Ideological Remolding in China,"Atlantic MonthlyDecember 1959, pp. 71–77.
- "Lu Hsün and the Communist Party," The China Quarterly vol. 4, 1960, pp. 17–27.
- "Group Study in Red China: Brainwashing in Depth," In: Reo Millard Christenson, Robert Owen McWilliams, eds., Voice of the People: Readings in Public Opinion and Propaganda. McGraw-Hill, 1962, pp. 412–414.
- "Literary Dissent in Communist China," (Review) The China Quarterly vol. 34, 1968, pp. 151–152.
- "Lu Xun: Literature and Revolution—from Mara to Marx," In Merle Goldman (ed.): Modern Chinese Literature in the May Fourth Era. Harvard University Press, 1977, pp. 189–220.
- "Literature in Fetters," In: Ross Terrill, ed., The China Difference, Harper & Row, 1979, pp. 285–304.
- "Obituary: Robert Ruhlmann (1920–1984)," The Journal of Asian Studies vol. 44.2 (1 February 1985), pp. 477.
Sources
- Memoir: Harriet C. Mills Regent's Proceedings 269, University of Michigan.
- Sam Roberts: Harriet Mills, 95, scholar held in ‘brainwashing prison’ in China Boston Globe, 3 April 2016.
- Sam Roberts: Harriet Mills, Scholar Held in ‘Brainwashing Prison’ in China, Dies at 95 New York Times, 29 March 2016.
References
- ^ a b c Roberts 2016.
- ^ a b c d Memoir: Harriet C. Mills Regent's Proceedings 269, University of Michigan.
- ^ a b Ronald St. John MacDonald (ed.): Essays in Honour of Wang Tieya. p. 9–10.
- ^ Frank Dikötter: The Tragedy of Liberation: A History of the Chinese Revolution, 1945–57. p. 114; cf. Allyn Rickett, Adele Rickett: Prisoners of Liberation: Four Years in a Chinese Communist Prison. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press, 1973.
- ^ Hsinhua, Canton, 4 November 1955.
- ^ Four Americans are Released by Red China. In: Gettysburg Times, 31 October 1955.
- ^ Carol Howe: Never Forget to Laugh: Personal Recollections of Bill Thetford. 2010, pp. 58–59.
- ^ Paul Ropp, Prof. Harriet C. Mills (1920-2016) H-ASIA May 4, 2016
- ^ Madeline Men-li Chu: Mapping the course of the Chinese language field. Chinese Language Teachers Association, 1999, p. 231; Peter A. Eddy: Chinese Language Study in American Higher Education: State of the Art. Center for Applied Linguistics, 1980, p. 4.