Assistant Professor of History

Chong Eun Ahn is a historian of modern East Asia. She grew up in Seoul, South Korea. Majoring in British and American studies at Sogang University, she also gained familiarity with Asian and European history more broadly.  She was also engaged in critical study groups focusing on issues ranging from colonial legacies to the geopolitics of East Asia.  This engagement drove her to pursue graduate studies in the United States. She first obtained an M.A. in East Asian Languages and Cultures from Columbia University, with a focus on ethnicity and nationalism in modern East Asia. She received Ph.D. in History at University of Washington. Her Ph.D. dissertation, “From Chaoxian ren to Chaoxian zu: Korean Identity under Japanese Empire and Chinese Nation State,” examines the identity formation of ethnic Koreans who were treated as colonial subjects in the Japanese empire and then categorized as ethnic minorities in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Her academic interests include East Asian history and culture, and issues surrounding colonialism, modernity, ethnicity, labor migrations, and empires.

Courses:

HIST 102 - World Civilization 1500-1815

HIST 103 - World Civilization Since 1815

HIST 380 - Modern East Asia

HIST 383 - East Asian Civilization

HIST 398 - Trauma, History, and Memory in East Asia

HIST 483 - Modern China

HIST 484 - Modern Japan

Other Areas of Interest:

Modern Korea

Gender and History in East Asia

Colonial Encounters in Asia