December 15, 2021
In the first two weeks of February, around 100,000 research volumes will travel 3,000 miles across the country to reach their final destination – Boston College.
The Ricci Institute for Sino-Western Cultural History is expected to open in BC in February 2022, according to a communication from the university.
The internationally renowned research center, bringing rare books, manuscripts and unique works of art from East Asia, is housed in the Creagh Library on the Brighton campus.
The institute moves from the University of San Francisco, where it was founded in 1984 by Rev. Edward Malatesta, SJ. Malatesta named the institute after Matteo Ricci – a 16th century Italian Jesuit missionary who created the first cultural bridge between the East and West – after Rev. M. Antoni J. Ucerler, SJ, director of the Ricci Institute.
“[Ricci] was a missionary but also built this cultural bridge between… Europe and China, ”Ucerler said in an interview with The Heights. “So Father Malatesta decided to give that name … because it’s not just about philosophy or theology. It is really through Christianity and this meeting of missionaries how East and West met. “
Ucerler said that in addition to philosophy and theology, the institute also covers the history of science, art and cultural exchanges between Asia and the West from the 16th theological faculties.
Professors will bring their classes to exhibitions and students will be able to use resources for research projects, Ucerler said. He also hopes students will enjoy having physical objects, not just digital resources, available.
“One of the things I’ve found in students is that you see reality is something else,” he said. “I love digital technology. I use them a lot, but one thing is… to see works of art or something rare on the screen. Another thing is to see what is real and even to hold or touch it. “
It is important to study Sino-Western cultural exchange, said Ucerler, because it enriches knowledge of the world and of oneself.
“By looking at someone who has a different experience, a different background, speaks a different language, and has a different cultural experience, you learn not only about the big wide world, but also about yourself and who you are. ” he said.
Ucerler said the institute works regularly with people from around 20 different countries around the world.
“We’re going to bring the world to BC – people come here who might not otherwise have come – and I think that will give both faculty and students the opportunity to interact with more people,” he said. “At the same time, we will take the work we do as members of BC into the world.”
Diversity, according to Ucerler, depends on openness and the desire to get to know and appreciate other people and cultures. That’s what drives the institute, he said.
“What the Ricci Institute really loves is bringing these different people together,” said Ucerler.
The institute will offer scholarships that bring graduate and postdoctoral students from around the world to study in BC, Ucerler said. As a Research I University, BC offers the highest degree with which one can become a nationally and internationally recognized expert in this field.
Ucerler said the main reason the institute moved from the University of San Francisco to BC was because USF does not have a Ph.D. Humanities or social science courses.
“We have worked with these young researchers from all over the world and we know that it will be difficult to really develop this program unless you are in a place that has these programs,” he said.
If all goes well, the collections will be relocated to BC in the first two weeks of February, according to Ucerler. Ucerler hopes that the institute will be available to the BC community as soon as possible.
“I really, really, really want to open the doors and have students, faculty, and other BC members [and] Employees are coming to use our collections for their theses before the end of the academic year, “he said.
Ucerler said he was amazed at the warm welcome the institute received and the excitement it generated in the BC community. Most of all, however, he is excited to expand the institute’s presence both in the BC community and around the world.
“I am happy to be able to dream big dreams and to be able to carry out our activities in collaboration with even more people, even more universities, [and] have an even greater reach across the BC community and around the world, “he said.
This story was originally published by The Heights, the student-run news publication at Boston College.
