معرفی
Judith Zeitlin is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and the Committee on Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS) at the University of Chicago. She holds a joint appointment with both departments and is deeply engaged in interdisciplinary scholarship that bridges literary history with performance studies, visual culture, gender studies, and medicine. Her work exemplifies the University of Chicago's commitment to rigorous interdisciplinary inquiry across traditional academic boundaries.
Professor Zeitlin's research interests center on Ming-Qing literature, cultural history, and the arts, with specialties in Chinese opera and the classical tale. She often describes herself as a 'ghostologist' given her extensive work on ghosts in Chinese literature and culture. Her scholarship combines literary history with performance, music, visual and material culture, medicine, gender studies, and film. She has developed innovative approaches to Chinese cultural artifacts, examining them through multiple sensory and disciplinary lenses while maintaining close textual analysis as a foundation of her scholarship.
Her publications demonstrate a consistent trajectory of exploring the intersections between literature and other art forms, particularly focusing on ghost narratives, opera, and material culture. Zeitlin's recent work has increasingly emphasized the performing and visual arts as ways to engage actively with all the senses, moving beyond text-centered analysis. Her scholarship shows a growing interest in music, especially as related to opera, which has driven much of her current research and collaborative projects.
Scientific Awards and Recognition:
- NEH fellowship (2019-2020) supporting research on musical entertainment in early modern China
- Mellon grant from the Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry for collaborative opera project
- Co-principal investigator of interdisciplinary faculty seminar on the voice funded by the Neubauer Collegium for Art and Society
Professor Zeitlin is deeply committed to involving students in her research and creative projects. She has collaborated with numerous University of Chicago MA and PhD students on exhibitions, publications, and performance projects. Her teaching includes innovative courses such as 'Ghosts and the Fantastic in Literature and Film' and experimental seminars like 'Literature of the Fantastic and Opera Adaptation' taught with composer Yao Chen. She regularly creates opportunities for students to participate in her research through exhibitions, publications, and performance projects, including co-curating the 'Performing Images: Opera in Chinese Visual Culture' exhibition at UChicago's Smart Museum of Art.
Her major collaborative projects include co-curating the 'Performing Images' exhibition, co-editing 'The Voice as Something More: Essays Toward Materiality' with Martha Feldman, and collaborating with composer Yao Chen on the English-language opera 'Ghost Village' based on a Liaozhai tale. She has also co-taught interdisciplinary seminars such as 'Opera Without Borders' and 'Opera Film, China/Europe: Cases in Media Hybridity,' demonstrating her commitment to cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary dialogue.
