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Timothy Cheek is a Professor at the University of British Columbia with dual appointments in the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs and the Department of History. He holds the prestigious Louis Cha Chair in Chinese Research and serves as Co-Director of the Centre for Chinese Research at the Institute of Asian Research (IAR). Having joined UBC in 2002, Professor Cheek is a leading scholar of modern Chinese history with expertise in Chinese intellectual history and the Chinese Communist Party.
Professor Cheek's educational background includes:
- Ph.D. in History and East Asian Languages from Harvard University (1986)
- M.A. in History from The University of Virginia (1980)
- B.A. in Asian Studies (Honours) from Australian National University (1978)
His research focuses on three interconnected areas of modern Chinese history: the history of the Chinese Communist Party within China's twentieth-century revolutionary context; contemporary Chinese thought and society, particularly the role of intellectuals in public life; and Mao Zedong studies. Professor Cheek leads the "Revisiting the Revolution" collaborative translation project, bringing Chinese scholarship on revolutionary history to English-speaking audiences. He is also working on a major project mapping Chinese statecraft from the Ming Dynasty to the present.
Professor Cheek's scholarly output reveals consistent engagement with Chinese intellectual history and political development. His recent work shows increasing focus on contemporary China under Xi Jinping, examining ideological governance and the reassertion of party control. He maintains strong interest in the historical roots of current political developments, particularly through the lens of Mao-era political practices and their legacy.
Among his notable recognitions:
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) in the Academy of Arts and Humanities (2023)
Professor Cheek actively supervises graduate students, co-mentoring MA and PhD candidates in modern Chinese history with Dr. Jeremy Brown of Simon Fraser University. His research has been supported by multiple SSHRC grants, including a major 2014-2019 project on "Reading and Writing the Chinese Dream" examining public intellectuals in contemporary China.
As Co-Director of the Centre for Chinese Research at UBC's Institute of Asian Research, Professor Cheek leads one of Canada's premier institutions for China studies, facilitating research collaborations between Canadian and Chinese scholars and supporting the "Revisiting the Revolution" translation project that brings Chinese historical scholarship to international audiences.
