Xiaowei Zheng

Xiaowei Zheng is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Specializing in Modern China, their research focuses on Qing Dynasty local history, early republican political culture, popular nationalism, and comparative revolutions. They hold a Ph.D. from UC San Diego (2009) and have been recognized with numerous awards including the Regents Humanities Faculty Fellowship (2021) and Hellman Family Faculty Fund (2011).

Research interests include constitutionalism, democratization processes, and the historiography of revolutions. Current projects explore 20th-century Chinese political discourse on sovereignty and rights. Recent publications include The Politics of Rights and the 1911 Revolution in China (2018) and articles on Liang Qichao’s political theory and Sichuan’s constitutional debates.

• Teaches courses like History of China, Modern Chinese Thought, and Comparative Revolutions.
• Advisor to three graduate students: Gaoziyan Cui, Yu Liu, and Alexandra Noi.
• Hosted a podcast episode discussing Nakae Chōmin’s influence on Chinese reformers.

Active in interdisciplinary initiatives, Zheng emphasizes comparative frameworks and digital humanities in training students for holistic historical analysis.