معرفی
Kate McDonald is an Associate Professor and Director of the UCSB East Asia Center, affiliated with the Department of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She holds a Ph.D. from UC San Diego (2011) and specializes in modern Japanese history, technology history, and empire studies. Her research focuses on mobility, spatial humanities, and critical geography in 20th-century Japan and the Japanese Empire. She currently serves as Associate Editor for Japan at the Journal of Asian Studies and co-edits the Studies in the History of Technology series.
Her notable works include Placing Empire: Travel and the Social Imagination in Imperial Japan (UC Press, 2017), which explores how travel reshaped imperial social structures. She leads major digital projects like Bodies and Structures, a peer-reviewed platform using spatial analysis for East Asian history. Recent research projects include The Rickshaw and the Railroad, examining human-powered transport in industrial contexts.
Professor McDonald has been recognized with prestigious awards including the NEH Digital Humanities Grant (2019), UC President’s Fellowship (2015–2016), and Hellman Fellowship (2013–2014). She advises graduate students in modern Japanese history, empire studies, and transnational frameworks. Teaching spans undergraduate and graduate courses on Japanese history, empire, and critical global history.
- Research Interests: Mobility Studies, Spatial Humanities, Technology History, Colonial Empires
- Grants: NEH, Gerda Henkel, UC President’s Fellowship
- Publications: Over 20 peer-reviewed articles, edited volumes, and digital projects
- Professional Service: Journal editorials, monograph series, and academic advocacy
Her work bridges traditional historiography with digital innovation, emphasizing collaborative scholarship and spatial methodologies to reframe understanding of empire and modernity.
