Michael Szonyi received his BA from the University of Toronto and his D.Phil from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He has also studied at National Taiwan University and Xiamen University. Prior to coming to Harvard in 2005, Prof. Szonyi taught at McGill University and University of Toronto. His main research interests are the local history of southeast China, especially in the Ming dynasty; the history of Chinese popular religion, and Overseas Chinese history. His most recent book is Cold War Island: Quemoy on the Front Line, published in 2008. A description of the book appeared recently in the Harvard Gazette.

GENERAL EXAMINATION FIELDS

History of Early Modern China (Ming-Qing)

Candidates should have a general knowledge of the political, social, economic and cultural history of this period (roughly the fourteenth to the nineteenth centuries). They should be knowledgeable about the broad types of primary sources available for the study of this period and the English language secondary sources, and also have some understanding of the major Chinese and Japanese works in the field.

Primary Research Language

Classical Chinese.

SPRING COURSES

Chinese History 256r. Documents for the Study of Chinese Local History