David K. Jordan
Encyclopedia
David K. Jordan is a Professor Emeritus at the University of California, San Diego
since 2004. He received his Ph.D. from University of Chicago
in 1969. Jordan is known for his excellence in teaching as well as his various service posts to the university. These positions include the Chair for the Department of Anthropology, the Director for the Program of Chinese Studies, Provost of Earl Warren College
, Interim Provost of Sixth College
, as well as one of the Founders of the UCSD Department of Anthropology with psychological anthropologist Melford Spiro
. Jordan currently participates in the university Academic Senate committees including the UCSD Graduate Council and the Council of Provosts.
, Chinese, and Nahuatl). Jordan spent most of his childhood in the United States
.
, with a secondary interest in pre-Columbian Mexico.
Jordan has published on language, social structure, folk religion, and sectarianism in Taiwan and China and has written in and about Esperanto
and the social movements associated with it and the associated area of interlinguistics.
Jordan is known as a leading researcher in Chinese Anthropology as well as Ethnographic Christianity research. Even after retirement, Jordan continued to work at the University with his last post as the Interim Provost of Sixth College. Jordan continues to teach both undergraduate and graduate courses at his home institution in the Departments of Anthropology as well as Eleanor Roosevelt College
's "Making of the Modern World" sequence.
at University of California, San Diego
.
Jordan's research in Chinese Studies focused on an ethnographic study in Taiwan
, in which he produced a general integrated picture of rural Taiwanese religious life for the first time in English. He also produced ethnographically based accounts of Chinese sworn siblinghood and traditional matchmaking, long-term Chinese traditions that had had little ethnographic study. Along with Daniel Overmyer, he co-authored The Flying Phoenix , a book that accounts Chinese sectarian societies practicing automatic writing divination, which is now considered a foundational book of the Chinese Studies field.
Jordan is also known for his research on the topic of Chinese Ghost Marriage
.
Jordan also authored the Rakonto Prapatra . This text was made up of Esperanto "fairy tales" experimenting with the use in a new language of a narrative form associated with long folk traditions in ethnic languages. The collection of stories are often used in teaching Esperanto, along with its restrictive vocabulary and its manipulation of agglutination extensive grammatical tenses.
in the summer of 1974 and at San Francisco State University
several summers. He was also a visiting faculty at the University of Washington
for one term in 1991 as well as a visiting faculty at the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology in Spring of 2007.
in Guangzhou, China in 2007, and was the keynote speaker at the 2001 Pacific Neighborhood Conference in Hong Kong
.
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
since 2004. He received his Ph.D. from University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1969. Jordan is known for his excellence in teaching as well as his various service posts to the university. These positions include the Chair for the Department of Anthropology, the Director for the Program of Chinese Studies, Provost of Earl Warren College
Earl Warren College
Earl Warren College is one of the six undergraduate colleges at the University of California at San Diego and is named after the three term California Governor and former Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren. Warren College emphasizes the importance of living a balanced life. Founded in...
, Interim Provost of Sixth College
Sixth College
Sixth College is the sixth and newest college of the University of California, San Diego, and is as of yet unnamed. Sixth College aims to prepare its students to become effective citizens of the 21st century — innovative, interconnected and aware. Opened in September 2001, Sixth College seeks to...
, as well as one of the Founders of the UCSD Department of Anthropology with psychological anthropologist Melford Spiro
Melford Spiro
Melford Elliot Spiro is an American cultural anthropologist specializing in psychological anthropology. He is known for his work on the Westermarck effect, and for his studies of the kibbutz. He has conducted fieldwork among the Ojibwa, on Ifaluk atoll in Micronesia, in Israel, and in Burma...
. Jordan currently participates in the university Academic Senate committees including the UCSD Graduate Council and the Council of Provosts.
Early life
Jordan was born in Chicago, Illinois to Dorothy F. Jordan and Earnest K. Jordan. Since his youth years, he has always been interested in archaeology, museums, religion, languages (especially EsperantoEsperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
, Chinese, and Nahuatl). Jordan spent most of his childhood in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Overview
His academic interests center in cultural and psychological anthropology, sociolinguistics, and the cross-cultural study of religion. Regional interests focus on Chinese society, especially in TaiwanTaiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, with a secondary interest in pre-Columbian Mexico.
Jordan has published on language, social structure, folk religion, and sectarianism in Taiwan and China and has written in and about Esperanto
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
and the social movements associated with it and the associated area of interlinguistics.
Jordan is known as a leading researcher in Chinese Anthropology as well as Ethnographic Christianity research. Even after retirement, Jordan continued to work at the University with his last post as the Interim Provost of Sixth College. Jordan continues to teach both undergraduate and graduate courses at his home institution in the Departments of Anthropology as well as Eleanor Roosevelt College
Eleanor Roosevelt College
Eleanor Roosevelt College is one of the six colleges located on the campus at the University of California, San Diego...
's "Making of the Modern World" sequence.
UC San Diego Academia Contribution
Jordan is also known to the university students as a hands-on educator. His website is known to be extremely informational and supplemental to his lectures. Jordan's lectures are known to be engaging and applicable to life situations. UCSD Students praise Jordan for his approachability and friendliness in establishing a special connection with his students both through his website of personal interests and academic collections. Aside from serving as a leading administrator and faculty after his retirement, he still mentors exceptional Undergraduate and Graduate students.Chinese Anthropology
Jordan can arguably be one of the breakthrough scholars in the field of Chinese Anthropology. His research focused on Chinese Popular Religion, and Traditional Chinese Culture. Jordan also teaches and founded these courses in the Department of AnthropologyAnthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
at University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
.
Chinese Studies
Jordan was one of the founders of the Chinese Studies Program at UC San Diego, where he served as the Program Director and still remains as an affiliated faculty. He also created a very large database on Chinese culture and society with an emphasis on an anthropological view on his personal website which includes detailed contents on almost all aspects of the traditional Chinese life.Jordan's research in Chinese Studies focused on an ethnographic study in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, in which he produced a general integrated picture of rural Taiwanese religious life for the first time in English. He also produced ethnographically based accounts of Chinese sworn siblinghood and traditional matchmaking, long-term Chinese traditions that had had little ethnographic study. Along with Daniel Overmyer, he co-authored The Flying Phoenix , a book that accounts Chinese sectarian societies practicing automatic writing divination, which is now considered a foundational book of the Chinese Studies field.
Jordan is also known for his research on the topic of Chinese Ghost Marriage
Chinese ghost marriage
In Chinese tradition, a ghost marriage is a marriage in which one or both parties are deceased. Other forms of ghost marriage are practiced worldwide, from Sudan, to India, to France since 1959...
.
Sociolinguistics
Jordan's text Being Colloquial in Esperanto was intended as usage guide, but it in fact was nearly unique in discussing usage variation and the ways in which Esperanto seemed to be evolving over time. Although it stands somewhere between an advanced language textbook and a sociolinguistic study, Jordan's text achieved new lights in the Sociolinguistic field of Esperanto.Jordan also authored the Rakonto Prapatra . This text was made up of Esperanto "fairy tales" experimenting with the use in a new language of a narrative form associated with long folk traditions in ethnic languages. The collection of stories are often used in teaching Esperanto, along with its restrictive vocabulary and its manipulation of agglutination extensive grammatical tenses.
Ethnographic Christianity
Jordan also did a tremendous amount of research in the field of Ethnographic Christianity. He teaches the course to the Ph.D students at UC San Diego in preparation for these students' field work in Christianized portions of the world. His research in this field include:- Christianity as a Religious Organization
- The Historical Jesus
- The Early Church
- The Mythological Traditions
- Historical & Ethnographic Variations: (General Histories, Comparative Studies, Asia, Latin America, Anglophone America, Africa, Europe)
- The "Scientific Study" of Religion
Visiting Professorships
Jordan was a visiting professor at Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in the summer of 1974 and at San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
several summers. He was also a visiting faculty at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
for one term in 1991 as well as a visiting faculty at the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology in Spring of 2007.
Invited Plenary Lectures
Jordan is consistently invited to deliver guest lectures on an international basis. In the past, he has delivered invited lectures at Sun Yat-Sen UniversitySun Yat-sen University
Sun Yat-sen University, also unofficially referred to as Zhongshan University , is a prominent university located mainly in Guangzhou, China. The University is named after Dr...
in Guangzhou, China in 2007, and was the keynote speaker at the 2001 Pacific Neighborhood Conference in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.