Victor B. Lieberman (born 22 July 1945) is an American historian of early modern Southeast Asia and Eurasia. He presently serves as the

Raoul Wallenberg Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. In ...

Distinguished University Professor of History and Professor of Asian and Comparative History at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, where he began teaching in 1984. In 1984, he published a seminal work, ''Burmese Administrative Cycles: Anarchy and Conquest, c.1580–1760'' (Princeton University Press), which profoundly impacted scholarship on

mainland Southeast Asia Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

through an analysis of alternating governance patterns in 16th- to 18th-century Burma. Totaling some 1,500 pages, his more recent two-volume study ''Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800–1830'' (Cambridge University Press) argued that in terms of basic dynamics, chronology, and trajectory, patterns of political and cultural integration in mainland Southeast Asia over several centuries resembled those in much of Europe and Japan, and to a lesser extent, in China and South Asia. A lead featured review in the principal journal of history, ''The American Historical Review,'' in 2012 (vol. 117, no. 4) claimed that "Lieberman's two-volume magnum opus is the most important work of history produced so far this century." Two international conferences, in London and Osaka, have been held to discuss Lieberman's scholarship, and each of the two chief journals of Asian studies, ''Modern Asian Studies'' (1997) and ''The Journal of Asian Studies'' (2011), has devoted a special edition to his work. His books have won prizes from the World History Association and the Association for Asian Studies. In 2014, he won the Golden Apple Award, conferred by student ballot, as the best teacher at the University of Michigan. Lieberman graduated first in his class and summa cum laude from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1967, and was the recipient of the Warren Memorial High Scholarship Prize as the highest ranking Bachelor of the Arts candidate. He obtained a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

Southeast Asian history The history of Southeast Asia covers the people of Southeast Asia from prehistory to the present in two distinct sub-regions: Mainland Southeast Asia (or Indochina) and Maritime Southeast Asia (or Insular Southeast Asia). Mainland Southeast Asi ...

from the

School of Oriental and African Studies 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 ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

in 1976.

Publications

*''Burmese Administrative Cycles: Anarchy and Conquest, c. 1580–1760'' (1984) *''Beyond Binary Histories: Re-imagining Eurasia to c. 1830 ,'' edited (1999) *''Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800–1830. Volume 1: Integration on the Mainland'' (2003) *''Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800–1830. Volume 2: Mainland Mirrors: Europe, Japan, China, South Asia, and the Islands'' (2009) *''The Hundred-Year Struggle for Israel and Palestine: An Analytic History and Reader'' (2011) *''Embracing the World, Hating Your Neighbors: Political Ethnicity in Asia and Europe 1200–1850'' (Harvard University Press, forthcoming)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lieberman, Victor 1945 births Living people Yale University alumni Alumni of SOAS University of London University of Michigan faculty Historians of Southeast Asia 20th-century American historians 21st-century American historians