Doctoral Candidate in History
renchao@umich.edu
Asia;
Global & World ;
History
Education/Degree:
MA Tufts University
MTS Harvard University
BA Illinois Wesleyan University
About
Fields of Study
- Modern South and Southeast Asia
- Colonialism and Empire
- Environment, Science, and Technology
- History of Capitalism
- Legal History
Awards
- International Dissertation Research Fellowship, Social Science Research Council
- Pattana Kitiarsa Prize for Best Graduate Student Paper, Southeast Asia Council, Association for Asian Studies
- Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship, University of Michigan
- Small Grants for Legal History Research, American Society for Legal History
- History Project Research Grant, Joint Center for History and Economics, Harvard University
- Alfred D. Chandler Jr. Travel Fellowship, Harvard Business School
- Rackham Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award
- Sidney Fine Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award
Publications
- "The Spectre of Ma Phyu? Loyalty, Competence, and the Spatial Dynamics of Imperial Administration in Colonial Burma." Modern Asian Studies, Volume 58, April 2024.
- "Global Circulation of Low-End Expertise: Knowledge, Hierarchy, and Labor Migration in a Burmese Oilfield." History of Science, Volume 61, Issue 4, December 2023.
- "From the Allegheny to the Irrawaddy: American Oil Drillers in Colonial Burma." Journal of Energy History/Revue d’Histoire de l’Énergie, No. 9, December 2022.
