Edward Tang, University of Alabama’s Department of American Studies Chair, passed away at 61 earlier this month after medical complications.
Tang had been a UA faculty member since 1998 and the American Studies chair since 2018.
“He’s been an anchor for the department for a long time,” said Stacy Morgan, a professor of American Studies.
Tang taught classes in subjects including Asian American film and the Cold War. He also led graduate research seminars.
His 2019 book publication, “From Confinement to Containment: Japanese/American Arts during the Early Cold War,” discusses World War II and the early Cold War in the context of Japanese American artists and writers.
“He had research and teaching interests that spanned a bunch of fields, and he was doing really wonderful, fascinating research up until the end of his life,” said Jack Carey, assistant professor of American Studies.
Outside of his research, Tang was known and loved for his kind and welcoming nature.
“He was one of the nicest, kindest people I’ve ever met in my life. He had a wonderful sense of humor,” Carey said. “He was someone you could always go to for advice on a whole range of issues.”
Carey said he hopes Tang will be remembered for “his kindness and his decency.”
“If you talked to him, you always came out of the conversation with a calmer perspective than maybe you would have gone into it with. He was just this really even-keeled, even-tempered person,” Carey said.
Morgan said Tang valued “friendships and connections” in the department.
“He was always coming around to check in with faculty informally, just to see how people are going,” Morgan said. “Even as he was having his own health struggles, he was still putting everybody else above himself.”
