Kevin Y. Kim

Kevin Y. Kim serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), specializing in U.S. global history with emphasis on Korea and Northeast Asia. His scholarly work bridges diplomatic history, Cold War studies, and critical examinations of capitalism within international contexts.

Kim holds a B.A. from Columbia University and earned both his M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University, establishing foundational expertise in American history and international relations.

His research investigates the interplay between U.S. political power and global transformations, particularly focusing on dissenting perspectives during the Cold War era. Current projects analyze alternative visions of American foreign policy through figures like Henry Wallace and Herbert Hoover, challenging narratives of U.S. exceptionalism while exploring connections between anti-racism movements, imperial dynamics, and economic systems. This work reveals how Third World decolonization movements critically shaped American diplomacy and capitalist development.

Kim's publications demonstrate consistent engagement with transnational frameworks, examining Pacific economic collisions, Korean American experiences, and Cold War alternatives. His scholarship appears in leading journals including Pacific Historical Review and Diplomatic History, alongside public commentary in The Nation and The Progressive.

Major recognitions include:

• Glenn Campbell and Rita Ricardo-Campbell National Fellowship (Hoover Institution, 2022-23)
• Charles Warren Center Faculty Fellowship (Harvard University, 2018-19)
• Silas Palmer Research Fellowship (Hoover Institution, 2018)
• William Appleman Williams Junior Faculty Research Grant (2015)
• Gilder Lehrman Institute Fellowship (2014)
• J. Franklin Jameson Fellowship (American Historical Association, 2013-14)

Supported by the American Historical Association, Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Kim's research program examines how marginalized perspectives reshaped Cold War geopolitics and capitalist globalization. His writing for broader audiences connects historical analysis to contemporary international affairs and popular culture.

No institutional labs or dedicated research teams are documented in available materials.