Margaret Tillman

Margaret Tillman serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Purdue University, specializing in modern Chinese history with emphasis on childhood studies, gender dynamics, and transnational educational movements during the 20th and 21st centuries.

Educational Background:

• Ph.D. in Chinese History, University of California, Berkeley
• B.A. in English, University of California, Berkeley

Dr. Tillman's research investigates cross-cultural contestations over identity formation and knowledge production in China. Her monograph, Raising China’s Revolutionaries, examines child welfare as a lens for modernization and nationalism. Current projects include Tested, analyzing Chinese youth responses to educational testing reforms and the transnational development of educational psychology during wartime. Her work bridges historical analysis with anthropology and gender studies to reveal how global influences shaped Chinese societal transformations.

Analysis of her recent publications indicates sustained focus on childhood mobilization, gender in revolutionary contexts, missionary activities, and educational reform. These studies demonstrate interdisciplinary rigor connecting history with public health, visual culture, and transnational policy transfer, highlighting China's complex negotiation of modernity through everyday institutions like schools and family life.

Scientific awards and grants include:

• American Council of Learned Societies Grant
• Taiwan Fulbright Fellowship

Dr. Tillman teaches East Asian history courses and contributes to Purdue's Cornerstone Integrated Liberal Arts program. Her research grants indicate leadership in securing external funding for innovative historical projects examining China's integration into global systems through the lens of childhood and education.