Miriam Silverberg
American historian (1951–2008)
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Miriam Silverberg (January 19, 1951 – March 16, 2008) was an American historian. A 1993 Guggenheim Fellow, she was author of Changing Song: The Marxist Manifestos of Nakano Shigeharu (1990) and Erotic Grotesque Nonsense (2007), winning the 1990 John K. Fairbank Prize for the former. A professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, she was director of UCLA's Center for the Study of Women from 2000 to 2003.
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- John K. Fairbank Prize (1990)
- Guggenheim Fellow (1993)
Miriam Silverberg | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 19, 1951 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Died | March 16, 2008 (aged 57) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Awards |
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| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | |
| Thesis | Changing song: the Marxist poetry of Nakano Shigeharu (1984) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | History of Japan |
| Institutions | |
Biography
Silverberg was born on January 19, 1951, in Washington, D.C.[1] Her father later moved to the Embassy of the United States, Tokyo to become a labor attaché there, and she was raised in that city as a youth;[1] she attended International School of the Sacred Heart in Shibuya.[2] She obtained her BA at American University in 1977 and her MA at Georgetown University in 1979, before obtaining a PhD in Japanese history from the University of Chicago in 1984.[3][1] Her doctoral dissertation was titled Changing song: the Marxist poetry of Nakano Shigeharu.[4]
After working at Hamilton College as an assistant professor of history since 1987, Silverberg moved to the University of California, Los Angeles in 1989.[3] She was promoted to associate professor in 1992,[3] before being eventually promoted to full professor.[5] She served as the director of UCLA's Center for the Study of Women from 2000 to 2003.[1] In 2005, she retired early from UCLA after being diagnosed with cancer and Parkinson's disease, and she became a professor emerita.[1][2]
Silverberg won the 1990 John K. Fairbank Prize for her book Changing Song: The Marxist Manifestos of Nakano Shigeharu (1990).[6] Two of her 1991 essays, according to Sabine Frühstück, "put the modern girl on the scholarly map" and marked the beginning of a dedicated academic subfield.[7] In 1993, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to study Japanese modernity.[8][3] In 2006, she published her final book Erotic Grotesque Nonsense, focusing on pre-World War II Japan, completing it "with the help of former students and friends" while ill.[1] The Los Angeles Times said that "Silverberg's scholarship is often required reading for those studying modern Japan".[1] Among her influences were Harry Harootunian, Shozo Fujita, Tetsuo Najita, and John W. Witek.[1]
Silverberg was an editorial board member for the journal Japanese Studies.[2] She was keynote speaker for a 1998 Japanese culture symposium at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.[2]
Silverberg died at Kindred Hospital in Los Angeles on March 16, 2008, from complications with Parkinson's disease; she was 57.[1]
Silverberg had a brother.[1] She was also fluent in Japanese, having been raised in the country during her youth.[1]
Bibliography
- Changing Song: The Marxist Manifestos of Nakano Shigeharu (1990)[9][10][11][12]
- Erotic Grotesque Nonsense (2006)