Xiangli Ding

Xiangli Ding is an Associate Professor at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) within the School of History, Philosophy, and the Social Sciences (HPSS). His research focuses on the intersection of environment, technology, politics, and human life in modern Chinese history, particularly hydroelectric power and its socio-political impacts. He is completing a book manuscript titled Hydropower Nation: Dams, Energy, and Political Changes in Twentieth-Century China (Cambridge University Press). His current project explores the environmental history of the Dongting Plain in the central Yangtze valley.

Key research areas include twentieth-century China, environmental history, East Asian history, and the history of water and energy. He teaches courses on East Asian survey, modern China, environmental history of East Asia, and the Sino-US relationship. His recent publications examine the Sanmenxia Dam project’s technical and social challenges, including resettlement policies and silt management issues.

His articles analyze high-modernist state projects, displacement of communities, and the interplay between engineering and politics in twentieth-century China. Ding’s work bridges technological innovation, environmental consequences, and state-building processes, offering critical insights into how infrastructure projects shaped both ecological and socio-political landscapes.