Erik Esselstrom

Erik Esselstrom is a Professor of East Asian History at the University of Vermont (UVM), affiliated with the Department of History within the College of Arts and Sciences. He has been on UVM's faculty since 2004. His research and teaching focus on modern political and cultural relations between Japan and China, particularly during the Cold War era. Esselstrom holds a Ph.D. from the University of California-Santa Barbara (2004).

He has published extensively, including two major books: *Crossing Empire's Edge* (2009), analyzing Japanese expansionism in Northeast Asia, and *That Distant Country Next Door* (2020), exploring Japanese perceptions of Mao's China. His work appears in journals like *The Journal of Asian Studies* and *Modern Asian Studies*. Esselstrom has collaborated with scholars at Kyoto University and Waseda University, and served as a visiting Associate Professor at Hitotsubashi University (2012) and held a Japan Foundation Fellowship (2015).

His awards include the Japan Foundation Japanese Studies Research Fellowship (2015). While no formal advisees are listed, his research collaborations highlight interdisciplinary and international teamwork. Esselstrom’s work bridges historical analysis with cultural studies, emphasizing visual and media representation of transnational relations.