By Melody Tang ’22
Paul Eason, new teacher in the history department, is substituting for Rosemary van Vlijmen’s history classes. He taught at Bates College, a liberal arts school in Maine, before coming to the Middle School to teach.
Eason is a specialist in the history of Southeast Asia and Japan, having completed his doctoral thesis on the subject.  He earned his undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley before going on to earn his master’s degree and doctorate at Princeton. He said he enjoys modern history and the discussion of everyday life as well as society and culture.
“The great thing about history as a field is that the deeper you go, the more options you actually have to follow your interests and study what really interests you the most. Know that the basics you learn are important building blocks, but they provide a foundation you can creatively build on later,” Eason said.
He decided to come to the Middle School because of his passion, and the opening in the history department presented an opportunity. Eason said that it has been a pleasure so far teaching with the beautiful campus and motivated students.
“It’s probably self-evident that my favorite part about teaching is the students,” Eason said.
In his free time, Eason said he enjoys reading, photography and pottery as well as playing with his dog.
“Having a new teacher is a new view. We can learn differently than we normally do with Ms. van Vlijmen,” Casey Landecker ’23 said.