C. Michele Thompson

C. Michele Thompson is a Professor in the Department of History at Southern Connecticut State University. Her research centers on the history of medicine in Southeast Asia, with a specialization in Vietnam, exploring themes like colonial medicine, traditional healing practices, and environmental interactions. She has edited volumes such as Southern Medicine for Southern People: Vietnamese Medicine in the Making (2012) and authored Vietnamese Traditional Medicine: A Social History.

Her work examines the intersection of medicine, culture, and politics, including Buddhist healing in 14th-century Đại Việt, smallpox vaccination in colonial Indochina, and wildlife conservation ethics. Recent publications analyze interspecies dynamics and critiques of colonial medical empires. Thompson's articles frequently appear in journals like EASTM and Journal of Asian Studies, with a strong focus on historical methodology and cross-cultural exchanges.

She has secured multiple grants, including:

• "Medicalize Fauna" (CSCU, $4,800, 2022-2023)
• Travel Grant for AAS presentation (Geiss Hsu Foundation, $3,000, 2022)
• "History of Vaccination for Smallpox in Southeast Asia" (National Library of Medicine, 2017-2020)
• Research funding for fieldwork in Vietnam, Laos, and Singapore (2011-2018)

Thompson actively presents at conferences like the Association for Asian Studies and History of Medicine in Southeast Asia symposia, discussing topics from vaccine history to Buddhist environmental ethics.