From: "Ryan Dunch" <ryan.dunch@UALBERTA.CA>
To: <H-ASIA@H-NET.MSU.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, December 09, 2012 10:22 PM
Subject: H-ASIA: In Memoriam, Peter J. Seybolt (1934-2012)
H-ASIA
December 9, 2012
In Memoriam, Peter J. Seybolt (1934-2012)
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From: Erik Esselstrom <Erik.Esselstrom@uvm.edu>
Peter J. Seybolt, Emeritus Professor of History at the University of
Vermont, passed away on August 6, 2012, at age 77. A distinguished scholar
of modern Chinese history, he spent his entire 38 year career at the
University of Vermont (UVM) and created both its interdisciplinary
undergraduate Asian Studies Program and its Department of Asian Languages
and Literatures. He also worked tirelessly for decades to expand
opportunities for education about Asia for public school teachers and
students throughout the state of Vermont.
Born on August 15, 1934 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Seybolt received his BA degree
from the University of Cincinnati in 1956, served in the U.S. Army from
1956 to 1958, and began his graduate work at Harvard in 1959. He received
the MAT degree in 1960, taught high school history in California for two
years, and returned to Harvard in 1962 to pursue his doctoral studies under
the legendary John K. Fairbank. In 1970 he received his PhD in History and
East Asian Languages. He came to UVM in 1969 and stayed until 2007,
teaching courses in Chinese history, Japanese history, and U.S. relations
with Asia until 2001, and remaining as director of the Asian Studies
Program until his full retirement in 2007.
Seybolt authored seven books and dozens of academic articles, book
chapters, translations and reviews during his career. He is especially
known for his vibrant description of rural Chinese society in Throwing the
Emperor from His Horse: Portrait of a Village Leader in China, 1923-1995
(Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1996). That book was the crowning
achievement of a productive scholarly career that also included Through
Chinese Eyes (Praeger, 1974, with Ed Vernoff), Language Reform in China
(M.E. Sharpe, 1978, with Chiang Kuei-ko), The Rustication of Urban Youth in
China (M.E. Sharpe, 1976) and Revolutionary Education in China, Documents
and Commentary (International Arts and Sciences Press, 1973). For many
years he also edited a journal of translations on Chinese education and
society.
Seybolt was a talented classroom teacher, as well as a highly conscientious
and deeply valued university and departmental colleague. He served as
Director of the Asian Studies Program and administrator of the Chinese and
Japanese language programs throughout much of his career at UVM. His
greatest legacy was undoubtedly the establishment of the Department of
Asian Languages and Literatures. Seybolt took the initiative in bringing
Chinese and Japanese language education to UVM, but for many years those
courses were funded by grants he secured from outside sources such as the
Freeman Foundation. With dogged determination for more than ten years
beginning in the mid-1990s, Seybolt advocated for the creation of a formal
department within which these essential language programs could be housed
and supported. That vision finally came to fruition in 2007, and now more
than 120 students pursue majors and minors in Chinese and Japanese at UVM.
Seybolt's efforts also secured numerous grants over the years in support of
Asia-related events on campus, including the Claire M. Lintilhac Lecture in
Asian Studies series and events sponsored by the Freeman Foundation. In
addition, Asian Studies Program faculty members have benefitted greatly
from support secured by Seybolt from the Paramitas Foundation to fund
research travel and other types of professional development.
Seybolt also worked closely with his friend and colleague Wang Juefei from
the late 1980s to establish and develop UVM's Asian Studies Outreach
Program, which received the 2003 Prize for Excellence in International
Education from Goldman Sachs Foundation and the Asia Society. Today that
program continues to assist in training public school teachers throughout
the state in integrating Asia-related content into their classroom
curriculum, as well as facilitating travel programs that take Vermont
teachers to various parts of Asia every year. Upon his retirement from the
university in 2007, Peter received the Robert V. Daniels Award for
Outstanding Contributions to International Education at UVM in recognition
of his decades of enthusiastic service to the institution and its students.
The faculty members of the Department of Asian Languages and Literature at
UVM have also named the department's annual honor presented to their best
graduating senior the Peter Seybolt Academic Award.
Beyond his numerous academic achievements, Seybolt was an exceptionally
personable individual beloved by his colleagues and students. For many
years, he and his wife Cynthia invited History Department and Asian Studies
Program colleagues, their spouses and children, and their students to their
home for annual events such as the Chinese New Year celebration. He was an
exceptionally active individual who loved life and pursued it
passionately. His numerous activities included community service in his
home town of Underhill, Vermont, as well as the Chittenden County United
Way and the Vermont Mozart Festival Board (of which he was a founding
member); extensive travel in China, Europe and Central America; gardening,
cooking, opera, and exploring the Vermont countryside.
Professor Seybolt is survived by Cynthia Taylor Seybolt, his wife of more
than fifty years, their two children Taylor and Amy and their spouses,
Susan Seybolt and John Tomasi, grandchildren Willa, Potter and Reed Seybolt
and Peter and Lydia Tomasi, and sisters Gail Bain and Janice Theron. A
memorial gathering of friends and family members took place on August 11,
2012, at the Seybolt home in Underhill Center, VT. Donations in his memory
may be made to The Peter J. Seybolt Fund for Asian Studies, c/o The
University of Vermont Foundation, 411 Main Street, Burlington, VT 05401,
(802) 656-2010.
Erik W. Esselstrom
Associate Professor, Department of History
Director, Asian Studies Program
University of Vermont
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