Abstract
In Part 1 of this interview, Margot Landman discusses her family background and their influence in her choice of college and major. She goes on to describe her nerve-wracking first day at Brown and her best and worst memories as an undergraduate. She shares memories of the Chinese and Asian history departments at Brown, her extracurricular activities, including work at the Rape Crisis Center the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center, and Hillel activities. She also mentions social events she attended.
In Part 2, Landman goes on to talk about her mentors at Brown including Jerry Reader, her thesis advisor, and Bruce Donovan, faculty fellow. She discusses feminism, her search for a job in China, and her experiences as an American abroad in China in 1979. She describes her first job upon her return in union support at Columbia University, and discusses her studies there. She concludes with a quick discussion of her wishes for her personal life for the future at the time of the interview.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Recorded on November 13, 1987
Interviewed by Kirsten Rodine
Suggested Chicago style citation: Landman, Margot. Interview. By Kirsten Rodine. Pembroke Center Oral History Project, Brown University. November 13, 1987.
Biography
Margot Landman was born in Denver and grew up in New York City, where she attended high school at the Dalton School. After graduating from Brown University in 1978 with an A.B. in Chinese language and history, Landman was among the first Americans invited to teach in China after diplomatic recognition (1979-81). She stayed in China for a third year to continue her Chinese language study and to work at the newly established CBS News bureau in Beijing. Upon her return to the United States, she began working in educational and arts exchange between the U.S. and China (1983-86). She received her Master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University.
After graduate school, Landman joined the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations in June 2002 and is Senior Director for Education Programs. Previously, she directed the Teachers Exchange Program from the American Council of Learned Societies, was Assistant Director of the East Asian Institute at Columbia University (1992-95), Associate Director of the East Asian Legal Studies Program at Harvard University (1991-92), and Program Coordinator for the Committee on Legal Education Exchange with China, based at Columbia Law School (1987-1991).