Barbara Mittler (PC 85- 87) is currently Professor at the Institute of Chinese Studies at the University of Heidelberg.

 

Barbara is currently working on three major research projects including rewriting the history of cultural productions during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) where the general assumption is that the Cultural Revolution was nothing but a period of cultural stagnation.

 

Barbara is an external referee for the Volkswagenstiftung and the University Grants Committee, University of Hong Kong, sits on the selection committee for the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes, Rhodes Scholarships and has been Elected Honorary Life-Member of the CHIME Board.  Barbara has also served as a member of the German Selection Committee for United World Colleges

 

Barbara graduated with a MA from Oxford and completed her PhD summa cum laude at the University of Heidelberg. 

“I first heard about UWC at school.  My teacher suggested that I should skip a grade, but my parents said no, they did not want to single me out in the school.  Like most parents, they wanted me to be a ‘normal child’ like my peers.  Almost as a trade off, my teacher suggested UWC.” recalls Barbara.

 

“My father went to China in 1984 – when I was applying to UWC, and when I told him about the opportunity of studying Chinese, he was very enthusiastic and encouraged me.   I chose Chinese as my seventh subject for the International Baccalaureate.  I wasn’t really interested in China before arriving at UWC; I was a very traditional child and did not deviate much away from what others were doing.  I certainly wouldn’t have been able to study Chinese in my local high school.  I guess I should thank UWC as it set me on my path for my career. 

 

“I had always wanted to be a musician, but after seeing my mother, who was also a musician come home from work and not want to listen to music, I changed my mind.  I was shocked, how could you love something like music but not want to hear it anymore.  But sometimes, I think about what it would have been like to be a musician – especially now as I do not get much time to practise and I can no longer play as well.

 

“I thank UWC for my career, but there are many more important things that come out of the two years you spend at UWC – friends, understanding and opportunities, which would also not have been possible elsewhere. 

 

“I was aware of being made to question things I had always took for granted.  For example the Second World War was very heavily taught in German schools. I remember reading children’s books about the Jews being killed and hiding during the war – similar to Ann Frank’s diary only made into children books.  At UWC you become aware of the impact that everything has on people’s lives.  I had a friend from Israel  and she would not come to visit me in Germany, because her parents did not want her to. This was much different an experience than reading all these books.  It makes you think differently.  Wars for me take on a much more personal dimension now, I think UWC graduates think about them on different level, as many will have friends that are affected by it.

 

“Pearson College is a very special place in a beautiful location. The whole time I was there I felt as though I had been given this huge present of being able to study there.  No one memory really stands out, just being there and experiencing it all.  I had a tough time whilst I was there trying to reconcile why I had been chosen -I always thought I wasn’t worth my place.  The beauty of the place, the social service we did – I worked with disabled kids, which was very rewarding. We manned a sea rescue service, but thankfully we never rescued anyone, but I learnt to navigate a boat. None of this would have been possible anywhere else.  The feeling of ‘why me, why should I be given this huge experience’ stays with me still.   I feel obligated to do something in return.  I feel I can do something through education.  I feel one person can make a real difference through education.  In Germany, the media still presents China in a very outdated and narrow minded way.  People then behave with this background reference in mind.  It is hard to change the media but I am adamant that I will try and I undertake all kinds of projects with this in mind.”