Department of History

Sharon Zhang

  • Graduate Student

About Me:

Sharon Zhang is a Ph.D. candidate in History since Spring 2022, and currently a visiting student researcher affiliated with the Department of History at the University of California, Berkeley from 2022 to 2023. Her dissertation delves into the intricate material and cultural exchanges involved in gift-giving rituals between China and other parts of the world, particularly as reflected in foreign relations in the Mongol-Yuan era. Her research aims to explore how the circulation of tributary gifts facilitated the formation of transregional networks in the global medieval world.

Sharon’s broader academic interests extend to foreign policies in Middle Period China, medieval Eurasian travelers along the overland and maritime Silk Road, and spatial and digital methods for Chinese studies. Prior to coming to Pitt, Sharon received her M.A. in History from North Carolina State University. She also completed an intensive language training in Latin at the University of California, Berkeley.

Fields: Mongol-Yuan China, Sino-foreign relations, History of Travel, Global History, Digital Humanities.  

Conference Presentations:

“Village Gazetteer as a Genre of Chinese Local Chronicles: An Introduction to Contemporary Chinese Village Gazetteer Data (CCVG Data).” Conference on Rural Society and Politics in China, April 22-23, 2022, Pittsburgh, PA.

“Church Dedicator: Catholic Missionaries and Cross-cultural Exchanges in Mongol Eurasia (1206-1368).” The 26th Annual Association of Central Eurasian Students Conference (ACES), February 29th, 2020, Bloomington, IN. 

“Interdisciplinary Pedagogical Approaches to Building Place-energized Undergraduate Research in Study Abroad Experience.” The Southeast Conference of the Association for Asian Studies (SEC/AAS), January 17th-19th, 2020, Sarasota, FL.

“The Luoyang Nestorian Stone Pillar and the Sinicization in Tang Dynasty.” The 25th Annual Conference of World History Association (WHA), July 2nd-5th, 2016, Ghent, Belgium.

Research Grants:

2022–2023 Social Science Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship

2021–2022 Thomas and Evelyn Rawski Graduate Student Research Fellowship in Chinese Studies

2021–2022 Chancellor’s Fellowship in China and Chinese Studies

2020–2021 University of Pittsburgh Arts and Sciences Graduate Fellowship

Advisor: Dr. Ruth Mostern