Judd Kinzley, Assistant Professor of History
As a historian of Modern China, Judd Kinzley’s research interests include environmental history, state power, industrial development, and wartime mobilization. He tries to understand the connections that exist between state power and the natural world in various Chinese peripheral and border regions. Currently, he is working on a manuscript that deals with mining and the extension of the Chinese state into Xinjiang province in China’s far west during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Over the past few years, the Department of History has hired five new faculty members with strong research and teaching interests in China. Kinzley, whose hiring was funded by an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant, says the University of Wisconsin-Madison is developing a reputation as a “Chinese history powerhouse.”
Welcome, Judd! Tell us about your research interests.
I focus on the ways in which the Chinese state expanded into border areas like Xinjiang, Tibet, and the Mongolian steppe. I am particularly interested in the ways that the environment has shaped the process of Chinese state expansion in the twentieth century.
Is there a specific campus resource you’re excited to explore?
Something exciting is happening in Chinese history at UW-Madison, and I am excited to be a part of it. I am very interested in environmental history and am looking forward to being on a campus with such a strong program in Environmental Studies, with the Nelson Institute and the Center for Culture, History and the Environment.
What can students expect from you in the classroom?
I really enjoy discussion, and try to incorporate plenty of opportunities for it, even in my lecture courses.
What courses will you teach?
This fall I am teaching a topics seminar on post-1949 China called “Does Mao Still Matter?” and also a more general lecture course on Chinese history from 1800-1949. In the spring I am planning to teach a senior capstone course on China/Taiwan-U.S. relations in the twentieth century as well as a lecture course on China and the Pacific War.
How do you unwind after work?
I love racquet sports! I play squash and tennis pretty well and am hoping to improve my badminton skills here in Madison.
What campus activities are you looking forward to this fall?
I love the Memorial Union. It’s a great place to eat or have a drink outside. And I’d really like to take in some football games this fall. I have never been affiliated with a school that has a big football program and I am excited for the whole experience — beer and brats included!