Faculty by Research Specialization

The Department of History at UC Santa Cruz is known for its innovative research and exemplary scholarship. Our faculty work at the cutting edge of their respective fields, covering a wide variety of geographic, temporal, and thematic fields of study. The areas of specialization listed here are by no means an exhaustive list of our scholastic interests. Rather, they highlight the diverse and often overlapping ideas and approaches we explore within our teaching and research.

Minghui Hu
  • Pronouns he, him, his, his, himself
  • Title
    • Professor
  • Department
    • History Department
  • Affiliations History of Consciousness Department
  • Phone
    831-459-5270 (office)
  • Email
  • Fax
    831-459-1925
  • Office Location
    • Humanities Building 1, 536 Humanities 1
  • Office Hours Spring 2024: Thursday 12-1 PM
  • Mail Stop Humanities Academic Services
  • Mailing Address
    • 1156 High Street
    • Santa Cruz CA 95064

Research Interests

Early Modern China (1600-1900), the history of science and technology, the humanities in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, and the rise of China in World Politics.

Biography, Education and Training

Ph.D., History, UCLA
MS, Science and Technology Studies, Virginia Tech
BS, Civil Engineering, Tamkang University, Taiwan

Selected Publications

Hu, Minghui. Waiting for the Barbarians: A History of Geopolitics in Early Modern China, Cambria Press, 2025.

Hu, Minghui, and Elverskog, Johan (eds). Cosmopolitanism in China, 1600-1950. Cambria Sinophone World Series. Amherst, New York: Cambria Press, 2016.

Hu, Minghui. China's Transition to Modernity: The New Classical Vision of Dai Zhen. Seattle, Wash.: Univ. of Washington Press, 2015.