The life of Germany's greatest writer, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, has been scrutinized more thoroughly than perhaps that of any other literary or cultural figure in history. But when Professor W. Daniel Wilson, chair of the Department of German, sifted through the archives related to Goethe and classical Weimar, he found and reported on material so disturbing and politically sensitive that one well-known East German said Wilson should be drowned. Professor Wilson spent the fall of 1996 studying reams of obscure documents that other scholars had largely overlooked. His research led to a book, The Goethe Taboo: Protest and Human Rights in Classical Weimar, that exposed Goethe's hand in political repression and revealed a dark side to a chapter in history that has been a source of pride for generations of Germans. The book's release in 1999 stirred anger and soul-searching throughout a Germany still coming to terms with its legacy and its reunification, and it left that country's academic establishment red-faced as many wondered aloud how so many German scholars had missed such relevant details. Wilson's probing study is just one example of how Berkeley's humanities professors provide profound insights into cultures around the globe -- insights that do no less than affect a nation's consciousness and send ripples through the political world. Their research contributes to an essential understanding of the context, nuances, and historical details shaping contemporary conflict and struggle. These humanities scholars research the languages and literature that are integral to a society's sense of identity. They rediscover texts, interpret them from a variety of perspectives, and translate them for wider audiences. It is a dynamic process of inquiry that keeps literary texts and cultural figures alive through time, and it deepens our knowledge both of the contemporary world and of worlds in a different place and historic period. This humanistic scholarship often raises significant additional questions, and these questions feed an intellectual dialogue whose inherent value and contributions to knowledge cannot be overstated. A review of the research underway by Cal scholars also reveals that a buzzword of the new century, "globalization," can describe the direction of humanities studies as well. While Professor Wilson's work is centered in Europe, other scholars are deepening our knowledge of cultures in just about every part of the world. As several forces -- technological, economic, political -- continue to intertwine the world's people as never before, the need for humanistic research that is global in range becomes self-evident. Consider the range of the projects profiled: A Sanskrit professor translates an epic poem that influences virtually every facet of life in South and Southeast Asia. A professor of classic Japanese literature studies Japan's poetic tradition and sheds new light on pivotal points in that country's history. An interdisciplinary scholar documents the life and times of an international figure who fought for free speech and social justice. And a professor of German studies sparks widespread controversy when he finds skeletons in the closet of a national icon. Four very different areas of study. Each an example of Berkeley's far-reaching, diverse, and exceptional research in the humanities.
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