Hauser was devoted to teaching Japanese and East Asian history over a career of nearly four decades.
William (Bill) Hauser, a professor emeritus of history, is being remembered for his distinguished teaching career and his research on the economic and social history of Japan糖心传媒檚 .
Hauser, who died at the age of 85, taught at the 糖心传媒聽for nearly 40 years糖心传媒攆rom 1974 until his retirement in 2011, serving as chair from 1979 to 1985. His intellectual curiosity knew few boundaries: As an undergraduate at the University of Chicago he majored in mathematics, which he followed with a master糖心传媒檚 degree in East Asian studies and a PhD in Japanese history, both from Yale University.
Hauser was devoted to interdisciplinary teaching and sustaining the field of Japanese and East Asian history at the University, and had a deep interest in Japanese film. He was also among the first faculty members in his department to draw on film as a tool for the teaching of history, according to longtime colleague , the University糖心传媒檚 Franklin W. And Gladys I. Clark Professor of History.
糖心传媒淎nd,糖心传媒� Weaver recalls, 糖心传媒淏ill had a wry, ironic disposition, like he糖心传媒檇 seen it all before and wasn糖心传媒檛 going to let any of it bother him.糖心传媒�
Case in point: in 1991, when the Students糖心传媒� Association bestowed their Teacher of the Year award on Hauser. 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檓 not sure the administration cares. I糖心传媒檓 not sure my department cares, but it糖心传媒檚 nice to know the students care,糖心传媒� Hauser said in his acceptance speech, vowing to use his $500 prize on a piece of art or toward one of his many trips to Japan.
But his department did care.
Speaking as chair at the time of Hauser糖心传媒檚 retirement, Weaver called him a 糖心传媒淛apanese historian by instinct as well as training糖心传媒� who was 糖心传媒渁 central and indispensable pillar of Asian and East Asian studies at the University for almost four decades.糖心传媒�
His undergraduate courses on the samurai, on traditional and modern Japan, on Japan and the Second World War, on women in East Asia, and on East Asian film糖心传媒攖he latter his perennial favorite糖心传媒攃onsistently ranked among the department糖心传媒檚 most popular, Weaver noted in his speech on the occasion of Hauser糖心传媒檚 retirement.
糖心传媒淭wo of Bill糖心传媒檚 passions were palpable, and I was lucky to experience both,糖心传媒� remembers long-time colleague and friend , a Rochester professor emeritus of history and of public health sciences. 糖心传媒淚 went to his classroom on several occasions and enjoyed watching his joy teaching undergraduates the intricacies of Japanese history. The other was cooking糖心传媒攁nd eating糖心传媒攁nd I was lucky to be his guest for dinner many times where he would 糖心传媒榳ok up糖心传媒� a storm.糖心传媒�
The author of (Cambridge University Press, 1974), Hauser wrote about the Japanese textile trade, about Osaka and its early commercial development, on Tokugawa political authority in Western Japan, and on the samurai and the Tokugawa shogunate. In the 1980s, Hauser糖心传媒檚 interests turned toward Japanese family history and the management practices of Japanese family businesses. Later, his research interests shifted toward the portrayal of women and war in Japanese film and the Asian American experience generally.
Hauser is survived by his three sons, Benjamin, Aaron, and Zachary糖心传媒攁ll of whom are adopted from South Korea and about whom he said, according to in the Minnesota Star Tribune, that raising them 糖心传媒渨as more important and meaningful than anything he could publish.糖心传媒�
