Susan Fernsebner

Susan Fernsebner is a Professor of History at the University of Mary Washington, specializing in modern Chinese history. Her research explores colonialism, public spectacles, and the history of childhood, with fieldwork and academic experience in Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China.

• Ph.D., University of California, San Diego (2002)
• M.A., Stanford University (1993)
• B.A., University of Massachusetts, Amherst (1990)

Her research focuses on intersections of modern China with themes of globalization, exhibition culture, and childhood studies. She has published extensively in journals like The Journal of Asian Studies and Postcolonial Studies, and her work has been supported by prestigious fellowships from Harvard, the Smithsonian, and ACLS.

Recent publications emphasize world expositions (1910-2010), childhood in early Republican China, and digital approaches to historical education. Her scholarship spans material culture, visual studies, and postcolonial theory.

• American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship
• An Wang Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard University
• Baird Society Resident Scholars award at the Smithsonian Institution
• Jepson Fellowship from the University of Mary Washington

She advises students and leads courses on Asian civilizations, Chinese history through film, the history of Japan, gender in China, and digital humanities. Her teaching includes innovative approaches like 'Minecrafting the Asian Past' and 'Digital Identities.'