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About Me

My name is Kankan Xie (or 谢侃侃 in Chinese), Assistant Professor of Southeast Asian Studies at the School of Foreign Languages, Peking University, China. I am interested in various historical and contemporary issues of the broadly defined "Nusantara" (Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore) and beyond.

My research projects deal with topics such as leftwing movements, Dutch colonialism, nationalism & decolonization, ethnicity & identity politics, governance & rural development, China & Southeast Asia in the Cold War.

Education
Dissertation Committee

Ph.D. | University of California, Berkeley | 2012 -- 2018

Southeast Asian Studies; DE in Dutch Studies

M.A. | Cornell University | 2010 -- 2012

Asian Studies

B.A. | Beijing Foreign Studies University | 2006 -- 2010

Peter Zinoman | History | Chair (2017--  )

Jeffrey Hadler | Southeast Asian Studies | Chair (2012--17)

Eric Tagliacozzo| History (Cornell)

Jeroen Dewulf | Dutch Studies

Sylvia Tiwon | Southeast Asian Studies

Malay Language & Literature

Qualifying Exam Fields ​
Language Skills

Mandarin | Native 

English | Fluent

Indonesian | Fluent

Malay | Fluent

Dutch | Advanced

Cantonese | Advanced

Southeast Asian History | Jeffrey Hadler | Southeast Asian Studies

Comparative Communism| Peter Zinoman | History

Dutch Colonialism | Jeroen Dewulf | Dutch Studies

International Relations | T.J. Pempel | Political Science

Teaching Experience

Peking University, China | Assistant Professor

SFL03918370 (graduate): Modern History of Island Southeast Asia (Fall 2019)

SFL03910013 (graduate): Graduate Writing Seminar (co-taught) (Fall 2019)

SFL03534731 (undergrad): Malay (A) (Fall 2019)

University of California, Berkeley | Graduate Student Instructor

SEA 10B: Intro to Southeast Asian Civilization: People, Power, and Performance (with Sylvia Tiwon, Spring 2018) 

SEA 10B: People and Politics of Island Southeast Asia (with Annette Clear, Spring 2014)

Chinese 1A: Elementary Chinese (Fall 2014)

Chinese 1X: Elementary Chinese for Heritage Students I (Fall 2013)

Chinese 10X: Elementary Chinese for Heritage Students II (Spring 2013) 

Cornell University | Teaching Assistant

Chinese 2201: Intermediate Chinese (Fall 2011)

Selected Fellowships and Awards 

Young Scholar Grant, National Social Science Fund, China, 2020-2025
Overseas Chinese Studies Research Grant, The Chinese Institute of Overseas Chinese Studies, 2020-2022
Curriculum Development Grant, Graduate School, Peking University, 2019
New Faculty Start-UP Grant, Peking University, 2019-2021

The Elvera Kwang Siam Lim Fellowship in Chinese Studies​, Center for Chinese Studies, UC--Berkeley, 2016 --18
The Lee Kong Chian Research Fellowship, National Library Board, Singapore, 2016 --17
The John L. Simpson Memorial Research Fellowship, Institute of International Studies, UC--Berkeley, 2016 --17
Transparency for Development (T4D) Research Fellowship, Ash Center, Harvard Kennedy School, 2015 -- 16
The Magistretti Award, South & Southeast Asian Studies, UC--Berkeley, 2017
Brill Fellowship, Scaliger Institute, Leiden University Library, 2016
The Milton L. Barnett Scholarship, Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University, 2011

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