Professor of History
Asian Studies Program Director
Office -Social Science 256
Phone - (801)626-6707
Fax - (801)626-7613
Email - glewis@weber.edu
Research and Teaching Areas: East Asia, South Asia, Middle East, Asian Film
Degrees: B.S., Arizona State University (1977); M.A., Ph.D. Arizona State University, (1986, 1999)
Courses:
- HIST 1500 World History to 1500 c.e.
- HIST 1510 World History from 1500 c.e. to Present
- HIST 4530 Far Eastern History
- HIST 4550 Southeast Asian History
Dr. Lewis presented a paper entitled "Cross-Cultural Influences in the Globalization of China's Cinema, 1985-2005," at Utah Valley University’s interdisciplinary, international academic conference, “China’s Global Impact,” March 2012.
OGDEN,
Utah – The lights have gone dark on Weber State University’s Chinese film
series this academic year.
The series, typically featuring six to eight significant Chinese films, will be
on hiatus while its organizer, WSU history professor Greg Lewis, conducts
research in China. Lewis has received a Fulbright Scholarship to research
and write the history of Chinese cinema for a forthcoming textbook.
For Lewis, the opportunity extends a journey of discovery that began with his
first stay in China in 1985-86. A curiosity stemming from the “aesthetic
beauty of the Chinese language” soon blossomed into an active interest in
Chinese cinema. “It was a means to study the language without any
distractions,” Lewis said. “The fresh perspectives and dialogue that
Fourth-generation directors embedded into their films challenged my notions of
Chinese culture especially, and even its history.”
As a teacher, Lewis continues to see an educational value in the study of
film. “Film really lets you see the world through the eyes of the people.
It is a straight document without much filtering,” Lewis said. “Of course, the
Chinese language is sometimes heavy in terms of meaning and symbolism and the
translation conveys only a portion of that.”
Over the years, Lewis has made many trips to China. The most recent was this
summer, when he taught a course on American films to Chinese students at the
People’s University of China in Beijing. The class viewed such classic
films as “The Grapes of Wrath,” “The Best Years of Our Lives,” “On the
Waterfront,” “Little Big Man,” and “In the Heat of the Night.”
“American film often reflects not only on our history, but also upon the rugged
individualism that permeates our culture,” Lewis said. “The young people
reacted mostly positively and sometimes almost wistfully when they reviewed
these films.”
Rather than teaching when he returns to China in September, Lewis will reside
in Beijing, Shanghai and Changchun, the country’s three primary film
capitals. “Changchun in the northeast is the oddest location for a film
hub,” Lewis said. “The Japanese built the largest studio in East Asia there
during their occupation in the 1930s. It is like creating a new Hollywood in
Kansas City.”
Lewis expects to find plenty of research and scholarship to review during his
10-month stay. As Chinese cinema approached its centennial anniversary in 2005,
the government authorized scholars to write several dozen tomes on the subject.
Lewis plans to spend plenty of time in libraries pouring over and translating
these works, as well as speaking with some of these scholars and filmmakers.
Once Lewis returns to Utah, he hopes to bring the best of Chinese cinema
scholarship to the states through his forthcoming textbook. Lewis estimates the
writing process may take another year or two to complete.
“The Chinese scholars are excited to see this knowledge shared with western
audiences,” Lewis said. “We have relatively few Chinese cinema historians here
in the U.S.”
Lewis gives credit to DVDs with English subtitles for boosting American
familiarity with Chinese movies during the past 10 years. It also has enabled
him to share many more Chinese films with local audiences compared to when he
first started the WSU Chinese film series in 1999.
Noting how the film series has grown over the years, Lewis hopes
that upon his return he’ll be able to entice some of the scholars and
filmmakers he meets to come to WSU and speak to students and cinema enthusiasts
at future screenings.
“The series attracts people from campus and the community,” Lewis said. “The
films bring together students, locals and even Chinese who live here in Utah.
The films engage them, and I enjoy the wide-ranging discussions that ensue.”