Iris Ai Wang
Professor Wang was born in Tianjin, a coastal city in North China. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Tianjin Normal University. She studied at Washington State University in 2008 and selected East Asian History as a primary research field. Her secondary fields include environmental history and World History.
Having been a teaching assistant for World Civilization courses for 4 years, she started learning teaching skills from a variety of professors and courses. She participated in Asia Program and embraced interdisciplinarity and cultural diversity of the program. After earning her PhD degree in 2014, she taught East Asian History and World History at Sam Houston State University at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
Professor Wang taught Modern Chinese History, Chinese Civilization, Japanese Civilization, East Asian History, World History to 1500 and World History Since 1500. She has strong interests in building courses with environmental, ecological and gender angles. She believes a global perspective of the historical past is an essential learning goal for students in the age of globalization. Professor Wang became a Warrior in 2015. She is now teaching East Asian Civilization and Modern World History.
Her current research project is environmental change of the city Tianjin and its river in the early 20th century. The research explores the environmental and urban historical dimensions of river management in northern China. The study of the Hai River implicates a modern history of science and technology, global perspective, and cultural change in China. It also reveals the introduction of imperialism, western-style governance, and modern technology to East Asian cities.
The tranquility of Winona reminds her of the years she spent in Pullman, a nice town in southeast Washington. Outside the classroom, Professor Wang invests time in reading and writing. She loves nature and landscape photography. When she is free from work, she likes to take a short walk along the lake trail and enjoy the spectacular view of shimmering sunset light on the Winona Lake.
View Dr. Wang’s CV (PDF).