Melissa Macauley

Melissa Macauley is the Wayne Jones II Research Professor of History at Northwestern University's Department of History and affiliated with the Asian Languages and Cultures Department. She holds dual roles as Chair of the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures and is part of the Buffett Institute. Her academic journey includes a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley (1993) and postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard and the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton).

Her research focuses on late imperial and modern Chinese history, with specializations in Sino-Southeast Asian relations, maritime history, and legal culture. Notable works include *Distant Shores: Colonial Encounters on China’s Maritime Frontier* (Princeton, 2021), awarded the Bentley Book Prize, and *Social Power and Legal Culture* (Stanford, 1998). She is currently working on a comprehensive history of the South China Sea.

Macauley has received numerous accolades, including the Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence (2004) and WCAS Distinguished Teaching Award (1999). Her grants and fellowships include support from the NEH, ACLS, Mellon Foundation, and Fulbright programs. She has held visiting roles at institutions like Renmin University (Beijing) and Academia Sinica (Taiwan).