Gordon Chang
Professor of American History, Olive H. Palmer Professor in the Humanities, and Director of the Center for East Asian Studies, Stanford University
Professor Chang’s talk presents an overview of his new book, Fateful Ties: The History of America's Preoccupation with China, which offers a “history of the present.” By “history of the present” Chang means a look at the earliest beginnings of America to today to provide historical context to the ubiquitous presence of expressions of fascination and fear about China. For centuries, Americans have been convinced of China’s importance to their own national destiny. Fateful Ties draws on literature, art, biography, popular culture, and politics to trace America’s long and varied preoccupation with China.
Gordon H. Chang is a Professor in the Department of History at Stanford and Olive H. Palmer Professor in the Humanities. He has served as the Director of the Asian American Studies Program and helped found the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. Currently he is the director of the Center for East Asian Studies. He is also the Co-director of the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project at Stanford that is recovering the history of Chinese workers in contributing to the completion of America's first transcontinental railroad.