Center for Ecozoic Studies

  • Contact Us
  • Sign-Up for The Ecozoic Review
  • Home
  • About
    • What We Do
    • Our People
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
  • Publications
    • The Ecozoic Review
    • The Ecozoic Journal
    • CES Musings Archive
    • Ecozoic Reader Archive
    • Guidelines for Submissions
  • Education & Events
    • Education
    • Events
  • Arts & Action
    • Arts
    • Action
  • Library
    • Foundational Statements
    • Foundational Essays
  • Connect
    • Sign-Up for the Ecozoic Review
    • Become a Member
    • Make a Donation
    • Volunteer
    • Contact Us

Remembering Wm. Theodore De Bary


From CES Musings -- July-August 2017

by Herman Greene

Download Article - PDF

Wm. Theodore de Bary, a renowned scholar of Asian thought, died on July 14 at his home in Tappan, New York, at age 97. He taught at Columbia University and finished his last class in May of this year. He was a close friend of Thomas Berry, and Mary Evelyn Tucker did her doctoral studies under de Bary’s instruction and guidance.

Thomas met de Bary when he embarked from San Francisco en route to China in July 1948. They traveled on the same boat and became lifelong companions. From 1959-65, Thomas participated in an elite faculty seminar at Columbia University. Six scholars met twice a month to discuss Asian thought.  Dr. de Bary’s wife Fanny was also an important part of Thomas’s life as were the de Bary children. Fanny assisted Thomas in the development of his ecological papers prior to the time that The Dream of the Earth was published in 1988. Thomas was a frequent guest in the de Bary home.

Mary Evelyn Tucker’s father was a professor at Columbia and he taught de Bary when he was a student there. She has known de Bary her whole life and had her last visit with him in June.

De Bary’s obituary in The New York Times stated:

Professor de Bary was an internationally esteemed Sinologist with a shelf of at least 30 books to his credit, either written or edited by him, and a bevy of academic awards and honors, including the National Humanities Medal, presented by President Barack Obama.

More locally, on the university campus in Morningside Heights in Manhattan, he was the consummate Columbia man — “one of the towering figures of modern Columbia history,” as Columbia College Today declared in 2013, a courtly figure “with the bow-tied elegance and comportment of a seasoned ambassador.”

As an editor, Professor de Bary presented thinkers from various Asian cultures in their own words in dozens of books that became standards in the field, elevating Asian studies far beyond Columbia to a prominence once reserved for European scholarship. In 1987, The New York Times reported that his “Sources of Chinese Tradition” had been the fourth-best-selling nonfiction book in universities over the last 25 years.

De Bary’s obituary is available here. Tributes to Thomas Berry by Fanny de Bary and Catherine de Bary Sleight appeared in the “A Tribute to Thomas Berry,” special issue, The Ecozoic 2 (2009).

The passing of Wm. Theodore de Bary is of great moment to the Berry community. His influence will live on and he will always be remembered.

Share this:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Musings

Get Involved

Join, Donate, Volunteer at the Center for Ecozoic Studies Membership button

FEATURED POST

Download current issue

_______________________________________________

NEW BIOGRAPHY ON THOMAS BERRY AT A 30% DISCOUNT

Columbia University Press published the first biography on Thomas Berry in spring 2019. The book was written by Mary Evelyn Tucker, John Grim, and Andrew Angyal. The book was released just prior to the 10thanniversary of Thomas Berry’s death on June 1, 2019. Information on the book and how to pre-order it at a 30% discount are available here.

Berry was one of the 20thcentury’s most important thinkers. He had encyclopedic knowledge which he synthesized in books such as The Dream of the Earth and The Great Work. His works were intellectually profound, inspiring, and evocative. Anne Marie Dalton termed the latter characteristic poesis. His presentations, written work, and conversations changed the lives of many people and gave rise to a historic movement that is continuing.

 


FREE ACCESS TO ONLINE COURSES ON
JOURNEY OF THE UNIVERSE AND THOMAS BERRY

 Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, Yale University, are offering four six-week online courses. Brian Thomas Swimme provides introductory comments. These are featured as a specialization under the title:  “Journey of the Universe: A Story for our Times.” They are available in English and in Chinese.

This specialization includes two courses on Journey of the Universe and a course on TheWorldview of Thomas Berry. Each of these courses can be taken independently, followed by an Integrating Capstone course. These are MOOCs available on Coursera to anyone, anywhere on the planet.

Learners may audit these courses FREE OF CHARGE (with the exception of the capstone course). Or learners may register for all of the courses for a small fee and, upon completion, receive a specialization certificate. The courses do not have to be completed within the six-week period, rather, learners may take the classes and finish at their own pace.

Courses:

  • Journey of the Universe: The Unfolding of Life (film & book)
  • Journey Conversations: Weaving Knowledge and Action
  • The Worldview of Thomas Berry: Flourishing of the Earth Community
  • Integrating Capstone: Living Cosmology (only available as part of the specialization certificate—not available to audit)

For more details and to register, go to:

https://www.coursera.org/specializations/journey-of-the-universe

 

 

 

Like Us on Facebook

Like Us on Facebook

Connect

• Become a Member
• Make a Donation
• Volunteer

Publications

• The Ecozoic Review
• The Ecozoic Journal

AISO Hosting

Library

• Foundational Documents
• Foundational Essays
• CES Musings Archive
•
Ecozoic Reader Archive

For permissions, contact
ecozoic.studies@gmail.com. 

About CES

• What We Do
• Our People
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use

Search

Copyright © 2021 Center for Ecozoic Studies * Privacy Policy

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.