Kristin E. Stapleton: Historian focuses on modern China
Kristin E. Stapleton says she's been fascinated by Asian culture from the first moment she read a work of Chinese literature and philosophy. And learning more about these subjects over the years has only strengthened her passion for intellectual exploration and foreign cultures, which, she says, was awakened early by high school teachers whose ambitious curriculum "changed my life."
Stapleton, associate professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences, joined the UB faculty this semester as the director of the Asian Studies Program. She comes to UB after 14 years at the University of Kentucky, during three of which she served as director of the Asia Center.
"I'm a historian with a focus on modern China, particularly the period when the old empire was collapsing and people were trying to start up a new political system," says Stapleton. "Most of my research is about how social institutions, political institutions, cultural expectations and gender roles changed in that period as China was transformed from an empire to a republic. My main interest is in this transformation: how the old way of life responded to the challenges of Western-style capitalism and new cultural influences."
Stapleton recalls that the first time she traveled to Asia was as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan in 1983. "I was really impressed with Taipei," she notes of the academic year she spent in the capital of Taiwan. "It was so much different from Detroit and cities I knew. There were people on the sidewalks all the time, vendors selling food at 2 a.m., tons of public transportation."...
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Stapleton, associate professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences, joined the UB faculty this semester as the director of the Asian Studies Program. She comes to UB after 14 years at the University of Kentucky, during three of which she served as director of the Asia Center.
"I'm a historian with a focus on modern China, particularly the period when the old empire was collapsing and people were trying to start up a new political system," says Stapleton. "Most of my research is about how social institutions, political institutions, cultural expectations and gender roles changed in that period as China was transformed from an empire to a republic. My main interest is in this transformation: how the old way of life responded to the challenges of Western-style capitalism and new cultural influences."
Stapleton recalls that the first time she traveled to Asia was as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan in 1983. "I was really impressed with Taipei," she notes of the academic year she spent in the capital of Taiwan. "It was so much different from Detroit and cities I knew. There were people on the sidewalks all the time, vendors selling food at 2 a.m., tons of public transportation."...