Ronald Takaki

I just watched Ronald Takaki, Emeritus Professor of History and Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley, in an interview on C-SPAN's BookTV this morning. Very cool! The last time I saw Professor Takaki was when he visited Pomona College for a lecture, and a couple of years before that, I sat on a panel with him about multicultural education. He came up to me afterwards and told me how much he enjoyed listening to my presentation and how my analysis was elegant and methodical. As you can imagine, I had the biggest grin on my face when he said that to me.

There were a few awkward moments though in the interview that revealed signs of his age. He once mentioned Gary Locke as the former governor of Massachussetts even though it was Washington. I cringed when he said that on TV, but his memory on history, details, and narrative was still as sharp as ever. Maybe it's the present day that he has trouble remembering.

I couldn't help but notice that the callers asking the questions would ramble on and on about some of the most inane things ever, and it would drive me nuts. I lost my patience and started screaming at the TV to hurry up and ask the damn question. But Professor Takaki was calm and smooth as ever and generally supportive. I figure he's been at it for more than 40 years that any question, no matter how tangential, is a valid question to ask. I also took notice of his linguistic and gestural ticks, verbalizing his thoughts, going back to a point, clarifying another point, saying "um's" and "right's?" often at the end of his statements, and all the while waving his hands poking the air, or circling with them as if he's begging you to come forward to him with your ideas. It was very relieving to see someone who is an intellectual giant work, and struggle, with his thoughts out in public.