Cindy I-Fen Cheng

Cindy I-Fen Cheng is the Robinson Edwards Professor of American History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, holding joint appointments in History and Asian American Studies. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine with emphases in Feminist Studies and Critical Theory, following a B.S. from UCLA in Physiological Science and Asian American Studies.

Her research examines the intersection of race, gender, class, sexuality, and nationality in shaping societal inclusion/exclusion dynamics. Core interests include:

• U.S. Cold War cultural politics
• Asian American historical narratives
• Transnational American studies frameworks
• Citizenship discourse analysis

Her monograph Citizens of Asian America explores how Asian Americans influenced U.S. democratic credibility during the early Cold War, revealing tensions between racial inclusion and political exclusion.

Current work investigates how Southeast Asian and Central American refugees transformed California's Skid Row neighborhoods from 1945-1980, analyzing refugee impacts on urban development and homelessness patterns.

Honors include:

• H.I. Romnes Faculty Fellowship (2018)
• Resident Fellowship at UW Institute for Research in Humanities (2017)
• Chancellor’s Inclusive Excellence Teaching Award (2017)
• Dorothy and Hsin-Nung Yao Teaching Award (2016)

She advises graduate students including Qing Liu and Brand Nakashima, and teaches courses spanning Asian American history, forced displacement, race in popular culture, and transnational migration.