We are thrilled to present to you the inaugural issue of The Hundred River Review! The essays in this journal were all submitted for core courses taught in the Writing Program during the 2015-2016 academic year and were selected for showcase because they are notable examples of the kind of work undertaken by students in their first and second years at NYU Shanghai.

Here on the ninth floor, we are busy with celebration: As NYU Shanghai’s first graduating class prepares for commencement, this journal makes its way to print. We drew its name from the Chinese idiom 海纳百川 (Hǎi nà bǎi chuān) or “the sea accepts one hundred rivers.” This phrase is sometimes paired with 有容乃大 (Yǒu róng nǎi dà), which can be translated into English as “a great person should be inclusive.” Taken together the two idioms suggest that inclusivity is a mark of excellence, that institutions who strive towards excellence are not only vast like the sea but also take in inspiration from multiple sources. With this title, we want to acknowledge Shanghai’s historically eclectic and receptive culture and the ways in which it has informed the many-cultured spirit we have built here at NYU Shanghai.

From an analysis of the presence of ghosts in Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior to an application of Luce Irigaray’s concept of philotes to The Epic of Gilgamesh, the topics explored in this first issue are varied and thought-provoking. You will find essays about the politics of cross-cultural exchange, about procrastination in Hamlet, and about the function of formal apologies after a genocide. At times our authors pour over the meaning and significance of a single sentence; other times they elegantly orchestrate a sustained mode of questioning across multiple texts.

While there are clear differences in strategy, style, and shape, each essay successfully implements the writing skills and techniques taught by faculty in the Writing Program. In all of the essays, the authors have carefully worked to navigate between their sources efficiently and effectively, to evidence all claims adequately and eloquently, and to develop a sound and arguable claim.

In order to create these coherent arguments, students must be willing to work at the difficult practice of shaping their ideas into words. The Hundred River Review is a celebration of our writers’ hard work, both the efforts they put into their initial submission and efforts they put into revising their papers with writing fellows and faculty after acceptance.

We believe there is value in reading the writing of those with whom we share our classrooms and our halls. We hope that you’ll enjoy reading these essays as much as we did.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Tomscha and Emma Lumeij

The Hundred River Review Editorial Board