Bio


I am interested in several different areas of history, including the historical connections between race and ethnicity in America, on the one hand, and foreign relations, on the other, and trans-Pacific relations in their diplomatic as well as their cultural and social dimensions. I have written and continue to publish in the areas of U.S. diplomacy, America-China relations, the Chinese diaspora, Asian American history, and global history. My most recent books have examined the history of Chinese railroad workers in America in the 19th century.

I continue to work with undergraduates, master’s students, and doctoral students.

Academic Appointments


  • Professor, History

Administrative Appointments


  • Senior Associate Vice Provost, VPUE (2019 - 2022)

Honors & Awards


  • Fellow, Society of American Historians (current)
  • Stanford Alumni University Fellow, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (current)
  • Fellow, Stanford Humanities Center (1993-1994, 2002-2003, 2010-2011)
  • Fellow, American Council of Learned Societies (1999-2000)
  • Fellow, John Simon Guggenheim Foundation (1999-2000)

Program Affiliations


  • American Studies
  • Center for East Asian Studies
  • Modern Thought and Literature

Professional Education


  • Ph.D, Stanford
  • B.A., Princeton

Current Research and Scholarly Interests


I co-direct an international project that seeks to recover the history of Chinese railroad workers in North America.

2024-25 Courses


Stanford Advisees


All Publications


  • A 'New Normal' or Returning to the 'Old Normal': Deteriorating US<i>-</i> China Relations, Chinese Americans, and the Future JOURNAL OF CHINESE OVERSEAS Chang, G. H. 2024; 20 (1): 42-49
  • Foothills CALIFORNIA HISTORY Chang, G. H. 2019; 96 (2): 105–8
  • The Chinese and the Stanfords: Nineteenth-Century America's Fraught Relationship with the China Men AMERASIA JOURNAL Chang, G. H. 2019; 45 (1): 86–102
  • A Note for History INTRODUCTION AMERASIA JOURNAL Chang, G. H. 2019; 45 (1): 3–5
  • ghosts of gold mountain: the epic story of the chinese who built the transcontinental railroad Chang, G. H. 2019
  • Gordon H. Chang AMERASIA JOURNAL Chang, G. H. 2018; 44 (3): 133–35
  • The Many Sides of Happy Lim: aka Hom Ah Wing, Lin Jian Fu, Happy Lum, Lin Chien Fu, Hom Yen Chuck, Lam Kin Foo, Lum Kin Foo, Hom, Lim Goon Wing, Lim Gin Foo, Gin Foo Lin, Koon Wing Lim, Henry Chin, Lim Ying Chuck, Lim Ah Wing, et. al. AMERASIA JOURNAL Chang, G. H. 2008; 34 (2): 70-98
  • Remembering Yuji - Yugi Ichioka AMERASIA JOURNAL Chang, G. H. 2002; 28 (3): IX-XIV
  • Writing the history of Chinese immigrants to America SOUTH ATLANTIC QUARTERLY Chang, G. H. 1999; 98 (1-2): 135-142
  • HISTORY AND POSTMODERNISM AMERASIA JOURNAL Chang, G. H. 1995; 21 (1-2): 89-93
  • TO THE NUCLEAR BRINK - EISENHOWER, DULLES, AND THE QUEMOY-MATSU CRISIS INTERNATIONAL SECURITY Chang, G. H. 1988; 12 (4): 96-123
  • JFK, CHINA, AND THE BOMB JOURNAL OF AMERICAN HISTORY Chang, G. H. 1988; 74 (4): 1287-1310
  • A SYMPOSIUM ON MARXISM IN CHINA TODAY - COMMENTS BULLETIN OF CONCERNED ASIAN SCHOLARS Chang, G. 1988; 20 (1): 26-27