Ethan Harkness teaches and writes about early Chinese culture with an emphasis on technical topics that inform the histories of science and religion. In his methodological approach to research, he also makes extensive use of excavated manuscripts to supplement historical perspectives derived from the transmitted textual tradition. His doctoral dissertation, entitled “Cosmology and the Quotidian: Day Books in Early China,” analyzes a type of almanac that circulated widely in the Chinese cultural sphere between the late fourth century and the late first century BC. For over ten years, Professor Harkness lived in Taiwan where, in addition to academic research, he actively pursued a number of interests, including bicycle touring and the Chinese strategy game of weiqi.

Ethan Harkness
Associate Professor
Early Chinese cultural history and technical traditions (e.g. agriculture, medicine, calendrical science, divination, and structured play and games); history of science; pre-Buddhist history of religion; Chinese paleography and excavated manuscripts
B.A. 1992, Harvard University
B.S. 1997, National Taiwan University
M.S. 2000, Brandeis University
Ph.D. 2011, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago
Contact Information
Ethan Harkness
Associate Professor harkness@nyu.edu 1 Washington Place, Office #710New York, NY 10003
Phone: (212) 998-7267
Office Hours: By Appointment