New PhDs who were affiliated with the Fairbank Center
during their dissertation fieldwork and completion
Each year, the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies awards the Desmond and Whitney Shum Fellowship to a graduate student embarking on an extensive period of fieldwork in mainland China for their doctoral dissertation. In addition, we support a cohort of advanced graduate students from across Harvard’s schools and departments through a year-long affiliation with the Center. As Graduate Student Associates (GSAs), the group meets regularly for professional development workshops designed to help them prepare for the academic job market while engaging with other scholars in China studies.
Our former Shum Fellows and Graduate Student Associates (GSAs) receiving their doctoral degrees this year have explored everything from Qing China’s Manchu-language books to lobbying and Chinese foreign policy. After receiving their doctoral degrees from Harvard on May 23, these graduates are stepping into postdoctoral fellowships and other research and teaching positions around the globe — from the University of Hong Kong to the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Graduating Desmond and Whitney Shum Fellows
Joshua B. Freedman earned a Ph.D. in Government for his dissertation, “Science as Charisma: Expert Authority and State-Society Relations in Contemporary China,” advised by Elizabeth J. Perry, Henry Rosovsky Professor of Government. Joshua will be a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Center for the Study of Contemporary China at the University of Pennsylvania.
Yulu Tang earned a Ph.D. in Economics. Her dissertation, “Essays on Workers and Firms in Developing Countries,” was jointly advised by Edward Glaeser, Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics and the Chairman of the Department of Economics, and Emily Breza, Frederic E. Abbe Professor of Economics. Yulu will be a Postdoctoral Fellow at Dartmouth and then an Assistant Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Graduating Graduate Student Associates (GSAs)
Sarah Bramao-Ramos earned a Ph.D. in History and East Asian Languages with a focus on China. Her dissertation, “Manchu-language Books in Qing China,” was advised by Mark C. Elliott, Vice Provost for International Affairs and Mark Schwartz Professor of Chinese and Inner Asian History. Sarah will be a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Hong Kong.
Kangni Huang earned a Ph.D. in Chinese Literature for her dissertation, “Toward a Poetics of Writing: Representing Literary Creation in Late Imperial Chinese Literature,” advised by Wai-yee Li, 1879 Professor of Chinese Literature. Kangni will be a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Southern California.
Austin Jordan earned a Ph.D. in Political Science for his dissertation, “Private Business under Authoritarianism: Party Cells, Associations, and Entrepreneurs in China,” advised by Yuhua Wang, Professor of Government. Austin is joining the China research team at Rhodium Group in Washington, DC.
Yuan-Heng Mao earned a Ph.D. in History and East Asian Languages with a focus on China for his dissertation, “Jiangxi Literati and Interregional Networks in Thirteenth- to Fifteenth-Century China,” advised by Peter K. Bol, Charles H. Carswell Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations. Yuan-Heng will be a Postdoctoral Fellow at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam.
Joo-hyeon Oh earned her Ph.D. in History and East Asian Languages with a focus on China. Her dissertation, “Learning Through Peculiar Things: Knowledge and Worldview in 16-18th Century China,” was jointly advised by Professors Peter K. Bol and Wai-yee Li. Joo-hyeon will be a Postdoctoral Associate in History at the University of Minnesota.
Congratulations to all doctoral graduates in the Class of 2024!