Edward A. McCord

Professor of History and International Affairs, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University, August 2015 to present

Associate Professor of History and International Affairs, Elliot School of International Affairs, The George Washington University, September 1994 to August 2015

Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies, The George Washington University, September 2011 to June 2014.

Assistant Professor of History, Department of History, University of Florida, September 1986 to June 1994

Ph.D. University of Michigan, History, 1985

M.A. University of Michigan, History, 1978

B.A.. Marian College, History, 1973

Awards and Recognition

George Washington Award, The George Washington University, 2014.

Harry H. Harding Teaching Award, Elliott School of International Affairs, 2013.

Donald A. Fleming Award for Distinguished Professional Achievement, Marian College, 2007

Teaching Incentive Program Award, University of Florida, State of Florida University System, 1993-94

Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Florida, 1991

Member, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, N.J., Fall 2008. Supported by a grant from the Starr Foundation East Asian Studies Endowment Fund.

Sigur Center for Asian Studies Research Travel Grant, Summer 2011.

University Facilitating Fund Award, The George Washington University, Summer 1995 and Summer 1996

National Program for Research and Study in China Fellowship, Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People's Republic of China, 1992-1993

Chiang Ching-kuo Fellowship, Inter-University Program in Chinese Language Study, Taiwan, Summer 1992

Mellon Fellowship for Young China Scholars, American Council of Learned Societies, 1987-1988

Research Development Award, University of Florida, Summer 1987

Post-doctoral Fellowship, Center for Chinese Studies, University of California--Berkeley, 1985-1986

Horace H. Rackham Fellowship, University of Michigan, 1985

Augustus Hindelman Fellowship, University of Michigan, 1983-1984

Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship, 1982

Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People's Republic of China Advanced Study in China Fellowship, 1981-1982

Social Science Research Council International Doctoral Research Fellowship, 1981-1982

Horace H. Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship, University of Michigan, 1980-1981

Center for Chinese Studies Fellowships, University of Michigan: 1976-1977, 1978-1979, 1979-1980

National Defense Foreign Language Fellowships: 1973-1974, 1974-1975, 1975-1976, 1977-1978

“A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Warlordism.” Presented at an international conference on “Modern China in Global Contexts: 1600-Present,” co-convened by the Historical Society of Twentieth Century China and the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica; Taipei, Taiwan, August 13, 2014.

“Cultural Diplomacy and Taiwan's Soft Power.” Presented at an international conference on “Major Developments in the World and Taiwan 2014,” Tamkang University, Taiwan, July 2, 2014.

“Soldiers as Vectors of Violence in Warlord Atrocities: A Social Analysis.” Presented at the annual conference of the Chinese Military History Society, New Orleans, March 14, 2013.

“Reevaluating the Nanjing Decade: A Provincial Perspective.” Presented at the annual conference of the American Association of Chinese Studies, Atlanta, October 14, 2012.

“Provincial Military Power and Political Consolidation in the Nanjing Era: He Jian in Hunan.” Presented at a conference on “Shaping a Modern Nation: A Centennial History of the Republic of China.” Academia Historica; Taipei, Taiwan, September 13, 2012.

“Residual Warlordism in the Nanjing Decade: He Jian in Hunan.” Presented at the “International Conference on Modern Chinese Society in Global Perspective and on Chiang Kai-shek and Modern China, 1840-1949.” Hangzhou, P.R.C., June 9, 2012.

“Predatory Warlordism: Wang Zhanyuan in Hubei.” Presented at the annual conference of the Chinese Military History Society, Washington, D.C., May 10, 2012

“Synarchy Revisited: A Plea for Internationalization in Warlord China.” Presented at the annual conference of the Association of Asian Studies, Toronto, March 15-18, 2012.

“Military Atrocities in Warlord China.” Presented at a conference on “Military-Civil Relations in Chinese History,” Leipzig, Germany, August 5-6, 2011.

“Bingzai: 'Military Disasters' and the Experience of War in Warlord China.” Presented at a workshop on “Civils & combatants à l' épreuve de la guerre en Chine et Indochina: Approaches socio-culturelles,” Université du Québec, Montreal, February 25, 2011.

“Mutiny at Yichang: Warlordism, Anti-Warlordism and Imperialism in May Fourth China,” Presented at the biennial conference of the Historical Society for Twentieth Century China, Philadelphia, PA, June 26, 2010.

“Militia Training and State Control in Republican Hunan,” Presented at the annual conference of the Chinese Military History Society, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey, BC, May 9, 2009.

“Local Bullies and Armed Force Entrepreneurs: Militia Leadership in Republican China,” Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ, October 7, 2008.

“Patriotism and Ethnic Interests in the 1937 West Hunan Miao Uprising.” Presented at the biennial conference of the Historical Society for Twentieth Century China conference on “Chinese Identities: Local, Regional, National and International,” Honolulu, HI, June 16, 2008.

“Soldiers and Mutinies in Warlord China.” Presented at the annual conference of the Chinese Military History Society, William Patterson University of New Jersey, Wayne, New Jersey, May 5, 2007.

“Victims and Victimizers: Warlord Soldiers and Mutinies in Republican China.”  Presented at a conference on “War and Suffering in Modern China,” The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, November 4, 2006

 

“Sanctioned Violence, Sanctioned Vice: Local Bully Behavior and Militia Leadership in Republican China.”  Presented at the annual meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Region Association of Asian Studies, Pittsburgh, PC, October 29, 2005.

 

“Kings of the Countryside: Local Militia Leaders in Republican China.” Presented at “The Social, Economic, and Cultural History of Modern East Asia: A Symposium to Honor Albert Feuerwerker and Ernest P. Young,” University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, November 6, 2004

 

“Warlords Face the Firing Squad: Military Atrocities and Popular Protests in Republican China.” Presented at the annual conference of the Chinese Military History Society, Washington, D.C., May 24, 2004

 

“War, Ethnic Rebellion, and State-building: The 1937 West Hunan “Resist Japan, Abolish Military Land Rents” Uprising.” Presented at the annual meeting of the American Historical Association, Washington, D.C., January 11, 2004

 

“Ethnicity and Nationalism in Republican China.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Region Association for Asian Studies, Washington, D.C., October 26, 2003

 

"War, Ethnic Nationalism, and State-building: The 1937 West Hunan "Resist Japan, Abolish Military Land Rents” Uprising,” paper presented at the Chinese Military History Society conference, Manhattan, Kansas, May 11, 2002.

"A Reappraisal of Warlordism: Military Force and the Problem of State-Building in Early Twentieth Century China,” paper presented (in Chinese) at the International Conference on the Ninetieth Anniversary of the 1911 Revolution, Kobe, Japan, December 15, 2001.

"Ethnic Rebellion, Warlordism, and State-building in Nationalist China: The 1937 West Hunan 'Abolish Military Land Rents, Resist Japan' Miao Uprising," paper presented at the conference on "Ethnicity, Politics and Cross-Border Cultures in Southwest China: Past and Present," Lund University, Lund, Sweden, May 25-28, 2000.

"Military Atrocities, Warlordism and Anti-Warlordism in Republican China," paper presented at the Chinese Military History Group conference, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, March 18, 2000.

"Military Atrocities and Public Opinion in Warlord China," paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Asian Studies, Boston, March 12, 1999.

"Burn, Kill, Rape and Rob: Military Atrocities and Public Opinion in Warlord China," paper presented at "Scars of War Workshop," Seminar on War in Modern China, Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia, April 18, 1998.

"Local Militia and State Power in Nationalist China," paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Historical Association, New York, January 3, 1997.

"Military Office and Local Elite Power in Guomindang China," paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Asian Studies, Honolulu, Hawaii, April 12, 1996.

"Warlords Against Warlordism: Military Men and the Issue of Military Interference in Politics in May Fourth Period China," paper presented at the Seminar on War in Modern China, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., February 10, 1995.

"State Power and Local Society in Nationalist China: Militia Organization in Hunan Province, 1927-1937," paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Asian Studies, Boston, March 25, 1994

"Warlords Against Warlordism: Nationalism, Militarism and Politics in Republican China," paper presented at the Southeast Conference Association of Asian Studies, University of Georgia, January 17, 1992.

"Warlord Republic: Civil War and the Militarization of Politics in Early Twentieth Century China," paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Historical Association, Chicago, IL, December 29, 1991.

"Militarism, Politics, and Nationalism in the Warlord Period," paper presented at the Seminar on Chinese Nationalism, Princeton University, March 22, 1991.

"Warlordism at Bay: Civil Alternatives to Military Rule in Early Republican China," paper presented at the Southeast Conference Association of Asian Studies, Rock Hill, South Carolina, January 18, 1991.

"Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: Militia and Local Militarization in Post-Taiping Hunan," paper presented at the Regional Seminar in Chinese Studies, Center for Chinese Studies, University of California--Berkeley, April 12, 1986

“Confucius and Friends: The Golden Age of Chinese Philosophy,” one-day Smithsonian Associates Program, Washington DC, October 25, 2014.

“The Historical Significance of the Cairo Conference,” roundtable presentation at the “International Conference on the 70th Anniversary of the Cairo Declaration,” Taipei, R.O.C. (Taiwan), December 1, 2013.

“Imperial China: 2000 Years of Political Evolution,” Smithsonian Resident Associates Program, Washington DC, September 21, 2013.

“Understanding Chinese History: An International Perspective,” Youth Assembly, Education Association for Chinese Tomorrow, Washington, D.C., August 14 2013.

“Military Violence in the Making of Modern China,” Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking, Elizabethtown College, March 25, 2013.

“China: A Tour through History,” Charles W. Smith Communities, Rockville Maryland, November 26, 2012.

“China and the World: Historical Perspectives,” Colonial Inauguration, GWU, June 20, 2012.

“Narratives of Commemoration: The PRC Looks Back on the 1911 Revolution,” presented at a roundtable on “The 1911 Revolution Remembers in 2011,” annual conference of the American Association for Chinese Studies, Philadelphia, PA, October 15, 2011; and Taiwan Roundtable, Sigur Center for Asian Studies, Washington, D.C., October 24, 2011.

“Military Modernization and the 1911 Revolution,” presented at a conference “Encounter of Chinese and Western Cultures and the 1911 Revolution,” sponsored by the Confucius Institute at the University of Maryland and the Asian Division of the Library of Congress, September 8, 2011.

“The Emergence of Warlordism,” presented in a panel on “The 1911 Revolution and Its Aftermath,” at a conference on “Dawn of Modern China: The 100th Anniversary of China's 1911 Revolution and the Significance of the Republic of China,” The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., May 20, 2011.

“China and the World: Historical Perspectives,” Colonial Inauguration, GWU, June 22 and July 1, 2012.

“History of the Empire of Qin Shihuangdi,” Elderhostel program on “China's Terracotta Warriors,” Bethesda, MD, March 29, 2010.

“Terracotta Warriors: The Qin First Emperor and Ancient China's Military-State Revolution,” Military History Club, University Club, Washington, D.C., December 9, 2009.

“The Passionist Martyrs of West Hunan: Globalization and the Missionary Enterprise,” Life, Death, Memory and Understanding: A Memorial Celebration, Passionist Historical Archives, Union City, NJ, April 24, 2009.

“The Sweep of Chinese History: Traditional China” and “The Sweep of Chinese History: Modern China,” in “China: Beyond the Headlines,” Arlington Learning in Retirement Institute, George Mason University, March 21, 2006, April 24, 2008, April 15 and 22, 2009.

“Understanding China through Its History,” Alumni Global Studies Lecture, Marian College, Indianapolis, March 5, 2009.

"China: A Tour through History," six-lecture course, Smithsonian Associates Program, Washington, D.C., April 22 - May 27, 2008.

“China Past and Present,” Policymakers Seminar Series, U.S.-China Policy Foundation, Washington, D.C., May 23, 2008.

“China's Rising Military Power: Implications for the United States and Taiwan Security,” Defense Research Division, Integrated Assessment Office, Ministry of National Defense, Taipei, Taiwan, November 12, 2007.

“China's Rising Military Power: Implications for the United States and Taiwan Security,” Institute for Taiwan Defense and Strategic Studies, Taipei, Taiwan, November 8, 2007.

“Influence of China's History on Today,” lecture at the Curtis-Wright Corporation China Symposium, Vienna, VA, July 18, 2007.

“China's Golden Age,” lecture in seminar on “The Golden Age of the Silk Road: the Tang Dynasty in China,” Smithsonian Associates Program, Washington, D.C. March 31, 2007.

“China: Using the Past to Understand the Present,” National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, March 27, 2007.

"The Great Dynasties of China," six-lecture course, Smithsonian Associates Program, Washington, D.C., July 5 - August 9, 2006.

"China and Taiwan: Historical Impasse, Contemporary Challenge,” Open House, Elliott School of International Affairs, Washington, D.C., April 15, 2005 and April 21, 2006.

“A Portrait of China: Beijing,” Smithsonian Campus on the Mall, Washington, D.C., February 16, 2005.

“Across the Taiwan Straits: An Overview of China-Taiwan Relations,” Franciscan Center for Global Studies, Marian College, Indianapolis, November 11, 2004.

“Prospects for Democracy in China: Historical Perspectives,” Asia Pacific 5 Summit on Democracy and Regional Security, organized by the Institute for Taiwan Defense and Strategic Studies, Taipei, Taiwan, November 18, 2003.

“China's Civilization and World View,” seven-lecture course, Smithsonian Campus on the Mall, Washington, D.C., October 22 - December 3, 2002.

“China's Global Presence: A Historical Perspective,” Smithsonian World Affairs Institute: “Beyond the Pacific Rim: A Global Perspective on China,” Smithsonian Campus on the Mall, Washington, D.C., April 10, 2002.

“Jiuyiyi shijian fashenghou Meiguode qingkuang yu mingzhong de fanxiang” [The situation in America and the popular response following the September 11th Incident], Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Peoples Republic of China, November 16, 2001.

“Jinshinianlai Meiguo xuezhejie yanjiu Zhongguoshi jieshao” [An introduction to American studies of Chinese history in the last ten years], Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Peoples Republic of China, November 15, 2001.

“Wusi qianhou Hunan renmin fandui junfa douzheng” [The anti-warlord struggle of the Hunan people before and after May 4th], Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, Peoples Republic of China, November 14, 2001.

“Philosophers of Ancient China,” six-lecture course, Smithsonian Campus on the Mall, Washington, D.C., January 23 - February 27, 2001.

“Beijing in Historical Context,” lecture in series: “Old Beijing: Imperial Capital of China,” Smithsonian Campus on the Mall, Washington, D.C., October 23, 2000.

"The Great Dynasties: 2000 Years of Chinese History," six-lecture course, Smithsonian Campus on the Mall, Washington, D.C., July 6 - August 10, 1999.

"The Emergence of Modern Chinese Warlordism," Humanities Division, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, July 1, 1993.

"Warlordism Reconsidered: From Warlord Politics to Warlords in Politics," Seminar on War in 20th Century China, Princeton University, March 24, l990.

"Enlistment, Conscription, Impressment, and Incorporation: The Ways and Means of Warlord Recruitment," Center for Chinese Studies, University of California--Berkeley, May 5, 1986.

Article manuscript reviews for Asian Ethnicity, China Quarterly, Frontiers of History in China, Journal of Asian Studies, Journal of Military History, Journal of Northeast Asian Studies, Late Imperial China, Modern China, Twentieth Century China, War and Society, Journal of Chinese Military History, and Business History Review.

Book manuscript reviews for Cambridge University Press, Greenwood Press, Harcourt-Brace, Harvard University Press, Pearson Education, Prentice Hall, Routledge Press, Stanford University Press, University of British Columbia Press, University of California Press, University of Florida Press, Westview Press, and Woodrow Wilson Center Press.

Editorial and Advisory Boards:

Editorial Board, Modern China, January 2000 to present.

Board of Directors, American Association of Chinese Studies, 2015-2017.

Editorial Board, Washington Journal of Chinese Studies, 2006-2007.

Advisory Board, Richard G. Lugar Franciscan Center for Global Studies, Marian College, Indianapolis, February 2004 to present.

Executive Committee, Chinese Military History Society, March 2003 to March 2004.

Evaluation Committees:

Fulbright U.S. Student Program, National Screening Committee (China), Institute of International Education, New York, December 5, 2007 and November 19, 2014.

Proposal Reviewer, Research Grants Council, Hong Kong, March 2013.

External reviewer for membership applications, School of Historical Studies, Institute for Advance Study, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Screening Panel, Toyota International Teachers Program, Institute of International Education, February 23, 2004.

Evaluation Team, Council Study Center at Peking University, Beijing. Council on International Studies Program (CIEE). November 19-24, 2001.

Member, Academic Consortium Board Evaluation Team for Council on International Educational Exchange Study Center at Peking University, November 18-25, 2001.

Selection Committee, Fulbright-Hays Seminar Program, 2001 and 2002.

Selection Committee, Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002.

Specialist Review Committee, Fulbright Scholar Awards in East Asian History and Literature, 1995-1998.

Conference Organizer:

Chinese Military History Society conference, “Military Power and the Chinese State,” George Washington University, Washington, D.C., May 10, 2012

Chinese Military History Society conference, “The Chinese Military and the State,” George Washington University, Washington, D.C., May 24, 2004.

Seminar on War in Modern China, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., February 10, 1995.

Panel Organizer:

Panel on “Issues of Ethnicity in Qing and Republican China,” annual meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Region Association for Asian Studies, Washington, D.C., October 26, 2003.

Panel on "Local Militia, Social Order, and Political Change," annual meeting of the American Historical Association, New York, January 3, 1997.

Panel Chair and/or Discussant:

Discussant, Panel on “China's Military: Yesterday and Today,” annual conference of the American Association of Chinese Studies, Washington DC, October 11, 2014.

Chair and discussant, panel on “Modern China at Gunpoint: Militarists and Military Organizations in Chinese State Construction,” annual meeting of the Association of Asian Studies, San Diego, CA, March 23, 2013.

Discussant, panel on “Strangers within the Gates: External Influence on Domestic Social, Economic, and Political Development,” annual meeting of the Association of Asian Studies, Philadelphia, PA, March 26, 2010.

Chair and discussant, panel on “The Identity of Ethnic Minorities and China's Policy of Regional Autonomy for Minority Nationalities,” Historical Society for Twentieth Century China conference on “Chinese Identities: Local, Regional, National and International,” Honolulu, HI, June 16, 2008.

Chair and discussant, panel on “Telling War Stories: Reclaiming the Study of Rebellion and Revolution in China,” annual meeting of the Association of Asian Studies, Atlanta, GA, April 6, 2008.

Chair and discussant, panel on “Boundaries between 'Public' and 'Private' Language: The Personal Writings and Popular Discourse in World War II in East Asia,” annual meeting of the Association of Asian Studies, San Francisco, April 8, 2006.

Chair and discussant, panel on “In Search of New Agents of Mediation and Control in Changing Local Structures: Late Qing and Early Republican China in Transition,” annual meeting of the Association of Asian Studies, Chicago, March 31, 2005.

Chair, panel on "Competing Loyalties/Conflicting Modernities: Literacy and Historical Issues in the Republic," annual meeting of the Association of Asian Studies, San Diego, March 10, 2000.

Panelist, roundtable on "The State of the Field: Reassessing the Study of Chinese Local History," annual meeting of the Association of Asian Studies, San Diego, March 10, 2000.

Chair (substitute), panel on "Asia in the World Community: Perspectives from Turn-of-the-Century China and Japan," annual meeting of the American Historical Association, New York, January 3, 1997.

Tour Study Leader:

“Imperial China and the Yangtze,” Smithsonian Journeys, April 7-20, 2015.

Georgetown University Alumni China Tour, Georgetown University Travel Society, October 7-23, 2007.

“Imperial Capitals of China,” Smithsonian Journeys Travel Adventures, June 3-17, 2004.

“Ancient Capitals of Beijing and X'ian,” Smithsonian Odyssey Tours, October 31-November 13, 2001.