Historian
With training in history, anthropology, and data analytics, Zixian Liu is currently studying in the Ph.D. in History program at the University of Toronto. His areas of research are labor, infrastructure, carbon energy, and revolution. Funded by Ontario Trillium Scholarship and Jackman Humanities Junior Fellowship, he is writing a thesis under the supervision of historian and visual artist Tong Lam. His dissertation, tentatively entitled (De)constructing a Revolution: Labor, Energy, and Infrastructure in South China's Coal Capital, 1964-1978, reveals that the production and usage of coal under socialism were integral to the formation of Chinese socialism and neoliberalism. He attempts to think outside the boundary of human high politics, reflecting upon both human and non-human conditions in the Cold War and after. His broader interests cover ethnic minorities under state socialism, Chinese diasporas in Southeast Asian revolutions, and discourses on programming languages (Python). In addition to researching, he has been teaching at the University of Toronto as a course instructor.
Education
Ph.D. Candidate, M.A., History, University of Toronto
Certificate, Data Analytics, University of Toronto Mississauga
Publications
"Making a New World and a New People: Cold War, the 'Rammed-Earth Campaign' and Architectural Design in Mao's China, 1964-1976," Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art 2017: 4, no. 2-3: 269-285
Review of Three Months in Mao’s China, Zouw, Kim van der; Zürcher, Erik-Jan, eds., H-Socialism, H-Net Reviews, May 2018. http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=50306
Languages
Chinese (Mandarin, Southwest Mandarin, Cantonese), English, Python