The Order of Academia: A Collection of Contemporary University Essays

Author: Hilles
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Features: During the translation process of this book, the translator felt there were many regrets, mainly two points as previously mentioned. As already explained, the articles included in this book span over fifty years, primarily discussing issues in the United States but also widely covering many countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Some important figures, events, or concepts are briefly mentioned by the author, considering the context of his time and the intended audience. This might have been quite natural, but for some readers today, it may feel confusing. Therefore, the translator has added annotations to certain parts based on his own understanding, but due to time constraints, this work may still be imperfect.
The second point is that the translator has participated in the translation of many academic works (mainly in the field of education) but has never faced a challenge as great as The Order of Academic. During the translation process, my friend, Professor Charles Townley of the College of Education at New Mexico State University in the United States, was visiting the Institute of Education at Beijing Normal University for a year and teaching a course titled "American Higher Education Administration" to graduate students. As an expert in American higher education, Professor Townley was certainly familiar with the content of the book. However, when I sought his advice on certain sentences I was unsure about, he even exclaimed, "It's unbelievable." One of his explanations was that Hilles wrote in German sentence structures and grammar, making his English writing difficult even for native speakers to understand. I have no knowledge of German and cannot verify Professor Townley's view, but it is a fact that Hilles's German is at an expert level.
Regardless, I believe readers who have read this book or other works by Hilles in the original language will appreciate the peculiar and challenging style of his writing. Although the translator has done his utmost to be meticulous and cautious during the translation process, there are undoubtedly many instances where the original text was not fully understood, leading to inaccuracies in conveying the author's intended meaning. I sincerely hope for criticism and guidance from experts and readers.