Robert A. Bickers (born 1964) is a British historian of modern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

. He is currently a professor of history at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

. Bickers is the author of six books and editor or co-editor of three more.

Biography

Born in a Royal Air Force hospital in Wiltshire, UK, Bickers grew up living on Royal Air Force bases across England, in Germany, and in Hong Kong. He studied

Chinese language Chinese ( or ) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and List of ethnic groups in China, many minority ethnic groups in China, as well as by various communities of the Chinese diaspora. Approximately 1.39& ...

SOAS University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

during the mid-1980s, including a year studying in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. After holding fellowships in

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

and

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, Bickers joined the department of history at the University of Bristol in 1997, where he is currently a professor of history and associate pro vice-chancellor. He was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

in 2023.

Scholarship

Bickers' book ''Out of China'' was shortlisted for the 2018

Wolfson History Prize The Wolfson History Prizes are literary awards given annually in the United Kingdom to promote and encourage standards of excellence in the writing of history for the general public. Prizes are given annually for two or three exceptional work ...

. Rana Mitter in the

New York Review of Books New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

described it as "a panoramic examination of the increasingly powerful articulation of China's national identity in the twentieth century and the country's painful encounter with Western imperialism." ''Empire Made Me: An Englishman Adrift in Shanghai'' (Allen Lane/Penguin and Columbia Univ. Press, 2003) was awarded the Morris D. Forkosch Prize of the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world, claiming over 10,000 members. Founded in 1884, AHA works to protect academic free ...

. Bickers directs the Hong Kong Kong History Project and the Historical Photographs of China digitization initiative. He is the former co-director of the British Inter-university China Centre and the REACT Knowledge Exchange Hub and is currently associate pro vice-chancellor (PGR) at the University of Bristol.

Published works

* ''China Bound: John Swire & Sons and Its World'' (Bloomsbury, 2020) *''Out of China: How the Chinese Ended the Era of Western Domination'' (Allen Lane, 2017) *''Getting Stuck In for Shanghai: Putting the Kibosh on the Kaiser from the Bund'' (Penguin, 2014) *''The Scramble for China: Foreign Devils in the Qing Empire, 1832-1914'' (Allen Lane/Penguin, 2011) * ''Empire Made Me: An Englishman Adrift in Shanghai'' (Allen Lane/Penguin, 2003) *''Britain in China'' (Allen Lane/Penguin, 1999) Edited works: *''Settlers and Expatriates: Britons Over the Seas'' (Oxford History of the British Empire, 2014) *''Britain and China, 1840-1970: Empire, Finance, and War'' co-edited with Jonathan J. Howlett *''Treaty Ports in Modern China: Law, Land & Power'' (Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia, 2018) co-edited with Isabella Jackson

References

External links

Robert Bickers at the University of Bristol
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bickers, Robert 1964 births Living people Academics of the University of Bristol Alumni of SOAS University of London Fellows of the British Academy Historians of China Historians of colonialism Historians of the British Empire