Yang Zhang Associate Professor Global Inquiry
- Degrees
- Ph.D. and M.A. in Sociology, University of Chicago
M.A. and B.A., Tsinghua University - Languages Spoken
- Mandarin
- Book Currently Reading
- Homer, The Iliad, translated by Emily Wilson
- Bio
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Professor Yang Zhang鈥檚 research covers the areas in comparative historical sociology, political sociology, contentious politics, political networks, philosophy of the social sciences, and social theory. His book project examines the emergence and development of large-scale religious and ethnic rebellions in the Qing Empire of China during the mid-19th century. Relatedly, he studies state building and empire building of late imperial China in comparative perspective. In another project, Prof. Zhang utilizes an original dataset on the communicative network of political elites to study political conflicts and policy making in China's reform era. He also examines environmental governance, organizations, and movements in contemporary China. In addition, he has been writing things about causality, contingency, counterfactual, comparison, and falsificationism.
Prof. Zhang has published articles in American Journal of Sociology, Theory and Society, Journal of Historical Sociology, Mobilization, Voluntas, and Research in Social Movements, Conflicts, and Change. His coauthored article, 鈥淭he Micro-foundations of Elite Politics: Conversation Networks and Elite Conflict during China鈥檚 Reform Era鈥 (Theory and Society), received Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship Article Award (Honorable Mention) from the Collective Behavior and Social Movements Section of American Sociological Association (ASA) in 2024. Another article, "Why Elites Rebel: Elite Insurrections during the Taiping Civil War in China" (American Journal of Sociology) received the Charles Tilly Article Award from ASA's Comparative-Historical Sociology Section in 2022.
At School of International Service, Prof. Zhang teaches courses on Bottom-Up Politics, Contentious Politics, Empire and Imperialism, Global and Comparative Governance, and Research Design Seminar. In SIS, he received the William Cromwell Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2021 and PhD Mentor Award in 2024.
Prof. Zhang's comments on the Chinese state and elite politics have appeared on Associated Press, BBC, Bloomberg, CNN, The Economist, Financial Times, New York Times, Reuters, South China Morning Post, Times, Vox Media, and Washington Post.
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Teaching
Fall 2024
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SIS-810 Research Design
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SISU-280 Global/Comparative Governance