Peter Zarrow

Peter Zarrow is a Professor at the University of Connecticut specializing in Modern China, heritage studies, and conceptual history and global circulation of ideas. His academic career spans multiple continents, having taught at Vanderbilt University, the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and served as a research fellow and deputy director at the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan from 2001 to 2013.

Zarrow earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University in Chinese history after completing undergraduate studies that included time at UConn and a year in Taiwan. Before pursuing academia, he worked as a newspaper reporter in Willimantic and in the early computer publishing industry in San Francisco and New York.

Professor Zarrow's research focuses on modern Chinese intellectual and cultural history, with particular attention to the global circulation of ideas and conceptual transformations. His current projects explore national heritage in China and Japan, focusing on the Forbidden City and Meiji Shrine, as well as collaborating with Prof.-Dr. Thomas Fröhlich of Hamburg University on 'key texts' of modern Chinese political thought. His work bridges historical analysis with contemporary theoretical frameworks to understand how concepts travel across cultural boundaries and transform in new contexts. He has made significant contributions to understanding the intellectual foundations of modern China, particularly regarding political thought, educational reform, and cultural transformation during the late Qing and Republican periods.

Zarrow's scholarly output demonstrates a consistent focus on the intellectual foundations of modern China, with particular attention to political thought, educational reform, and cultural transformation during the late Qing and Republican periods. His publications reveal an interdisciplinary approach that combines intellectual history, cultural studies, and political theory to examine how China engaged with global ideas while developing its own modern identity. His recent work has increasingly focused on utopian thought, heritage studies, and the conceptual transformation of the Chinese state.

Among his notable recognitions are:

• Dr. Hu Shih Memorial Chair, Academia Sinica
• University of Sydney China Distinguished Fellowship
• Fellowship at the Humanities Institute at UConn

He has also held visiting positions at prestigious institutions worldwide including École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris, East China Normal University in Shanghai, International Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto, British Academy and London School of Economics, and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

Throughout his career, Zarrow has maintained an active research agenda supported by various fellowships and institutional affiliations. His international collaborations reflect the global significance of his work on Chinese intellectual history and its connections to broader theoretical questions about modernity, heritage, and conceptual change. His current research on national heritage sites demonstrates his ability to connect historical scholarship with contemporary cultural and political issues.