Kathlene Baldanza

Kathlene Baldanza is an Associate Professor of History and Asian Studies at Pennsylvania State University, located at 201 Weaver Building. Her academic affiliations include the Department of History within the College of the Liberal Arts. She holds a BA from Bryn Mawr College (2001), MA and PhD from the University of Pennsylvania (2004, 2010).

Her research focuses on early modern Vietnam and China, emphasizing book history, environmental history, and diplomatic/cultural exchanges. Notable works include Ming China and Vietnam: Negotiating Borders in Early Modern Asia (2016) and Miscellany of the South Seas (2023). Current projects explore miasma in Sino-Vietnamese borderlands and the 1845 USS Constitution visit to Vietnam.

Teaching spans East/Southeast Asian history with courses like HIST 255 (History of the Book) and HIST 597 (Environmental History of Asia). Awards include the Henry Luce Foundation Fellowship (2016) and multiple grants for digital humanities and Asian studies.

Service roles include editorial board membership for Journal of Vietnamese Studies and vice presidency of the Geiss P. and Margaret Y. Hsu Foundation. Collaborative work with Zhao Lu emphasizes translating primary sources for pedagogical use.