Constance Cook

Constance Cook is a Professor of Chinese in the Department of Modern Languages and Literature at Lehigh University's College of Arts and Sciences. She has been a faculty member at Lehigh since 1990, progressing from Instructor to Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and finally Professor in 2007.

Dr. Cook received her PhD from the University of California, Berkeley and her MA from the University of Washington. Her educational background has prepared her for extensive research in ancient Chinese language, culture, and manuscripts.

Professor Cook specializes in ancient Chinese religion, medicine, divination, and ritual practices, with particular focus on manuscripts and inscriptions from the 2nd millennium BCE up through the 10th century CE. Her research has significantly contributed to understanding early Chinese thought through newly excavated texts, particularly in the areas of divination practices, medical concepts, and ritual traditions. She has pioneered work on stalk divination as an alternative to the I Ching, and has made important contributions to understanding the conceptual frameworks surrounding the human body in early Chinese medicine.

Dr. Cook's scholarly output shows a consistent focus on newly excavated texts from ancient China, particularly bamboo manuscripts. Her work spans interdisciplinary fields including religious studies, history of medicine, philosophy, and archaeology, demonstrating how these disciplines intersect in early Chinese thought. She has increasingly focused on gender aspects in early Chinese divination and ritual practices, as well as the cultural transmission of practices along the Silk Road.

Among her notable recognitions are:

• NEH Distinguished Professor (College of Arts and Sciences)
• Historical Studies Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton (2017-2018)
• Visiting Fellow, International Consortium for Research in the Humanities "Fate, Freedom and Prognostication" at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
• Senior Research Fulbright Scholar at Beijing Normal University

Professor Cook has been an active educator, teaching courses on Chinese civilization, pre-modern Chinese literature, women in pre-industrial China, and traditional Chinese medicine. Her teaching reflects her research interests, connecting ancient texts to broader cultural and philosophical themes. She has also co-authored the widely used textbook "Ancient China: A History" with John S. Major.