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.
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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.
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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