As a graduate history student, I am too young to know Prof. Dirlik personally. Nonetheless I am shocked and saddened by the news. He is still young, and I honestly thought there was still time for me to introduce myself to him, meet him, and talk to him about history, culture, various ideological -isms, philosophy… I thought there would be time for me to learn more and be better prepared to discuss such subjects with someone like him.
I discovered Prof. Dirlik too late. I only started reading him when I was working on my first year research paper on the historiography of the Taipings. I was immediately struck by his depth, complexity, deep understanding of Chines intellectual history and sharp perception. He is as much a historian as a philosopher, and I thought no one studying Chinese intellectual history (or modern Chinese history really) can afford not reading him. I wish I had been brave enough to make his acquaintance.
Lin Yang <yal210@ucsd.edu>
History, UCSD