Ashley Wright

Ashley Wright is an Associate Professor of History and Director of the Roots of Contemporary Issues Program at Washington State University. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge (2008). Her research focuses on British imperial policies in South and Southeast Asia, particularly regarding opium regulation and marginalized populations. She teaches courses on empire, modern Britain, and world history.

• Education: Ph.D., University of Cambridge, 2008

Her work examines colonial governance through lenses of gender, social control, and economic exploitation. Notable projects include analyzing opium policies in colonial Burma and studying the experiences of marginalized women in British imperial contexts. She has published extensively in journals like Journal of Social History and Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History.

Publications span topics from colonial legal systems to cultural anxieties surrounding opium dens and labor regulations for European barmaids. Her book Opium and Empire in Southeast Asia (2014) remains a key contribution to imperial economic history.