Department of History

Zhaoshen Wang

Position title: TA: History 201 with Professor Joe Dennis

Email: zwang977@wisc.edu

Address:
Advisor: Joe Dennis
Office: 4271 Mosse Humanities Building
Office Hours: By Appointment

Zhaoshen Wang headshot

Biography

I am a Ph.D. candidate specializing in pre-modern and modern Chinese history, with a particular focus on how historical memory shapes social mentalities, cultural identities, and ritual practices across time. I am also interested in the interplay between great and little traditions in China and broader East Asia since 1368, with special attention to the enduring influence of Confucianism. Methodologically, I combine rigorous archival research with extensive fieldwork, tracing various strands of memory through ritual practices, rural inscriptions, manuscripts, and oral histories to reconstruct the lives and mindsets of people from the past.

My doctoral dissertation, “Dating Nostalgia: Diasporic Memory of the Ming Memorial Day in East Asia from 1644 to the Present,” investigates how historical memories of the Ming dynasty have continuously shaped elite thought and popular culture, exerting a profound influence on significant historical events in China over four centuries. By situating Ming memory within a transnational framework, my research also provides fresh insights into the construction of national identities across East Asia.

Before UW-Madison, I earned my Bachelor of Laws from Wuhan University in 2014 and my Master of Laws from National Taiwan University in 2017, with a thesis on 20th-century Chinese constitutional history.

Education

LL.B., Wuhan University (2014)
LL.M., National Taiwan University (2017)

Field

  • East Asian History

MA Title

  • “The Establishment and Development of the System of Constitutional Interpretation in China, 1906-1949”

Working Dissertation Title

  • “Dating Nostalgia: Diasporic Memory of the Ming Memorial Day in East Asia from 1644 to the Present”

Courses Taught as TA

  • History 108 – Introduction to Buddhism (Spring 2024)
  • History 203 – Introduction to World History (Spring 2021)
  • History 255 – East Asian Civilization (Spring 2019)
  • History 104 – Introduction to Japanese History (Fall 2018)

Courses Taught as Instructor

  • History 103 – Pre-modern Chinese History (Fall 2024, Duke Kunshan University)