David John Brophy is an Australian historian of Modern Chinese history at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

where he is Senior Lecturer. He is noted for his work on the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and his contribution to the debate in Australia on the Sino-Australian relationship, for which Brophy has received significant press coverage.

Academic work

In 2011 Brophy completed his PhD at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in the Committee on Inner Asian and Altaic Studies (IAAS)., where he studied under Mark Elliott. After graduating, in 2011, Brophy accepted a position at

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

, where he was a member of the Australian Centre on China in the World. In 2013 Brophy moved to the

to be a member of its Department of History. Brophy has published three monographs as well as contributed numerous chapters and journal article. His most notable work to date is ''China Panic: Australia's Alternative to Paranoia and Pandering'', which was published in 2021. However he has written other books, including ''Uyghur Nation: Reform and Revolution on the Russia-China Frontier'' in 2016. Brophy has written variously for the

Guardian Australia ''Guardian Australia'' is the Australian website of the British global online and print newspaper, ''The Guardian''. Available solely in an online format, the newspaper's launch was led by Katharine Viner in time for the 2013 Australian fede ...

, The Monthly, the

Australian Book Review ''Australian Book Review'' is an Australian arts and literary review. Created in 1961, ''ABR'' is an independent non-profit organisation that publishes articles, reviews, commentaries, essays, and new writing. The aims of the magazine are 'to ...

, The China Story, The

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

and the Conversation. As early as 2009 - when he was a PhD candidate - Brophy was critical of the Chinese Government's approach towards the Uighurs. In 2021 Brophy co-signed a letter in support of Dr Joanne Smith Finley, an academic targeted by the Chinese Government in the United Kingdom.

Sino-Australian relations

With his most recent book he has advocated for a third way approach to the Sino-Australian relationship, one that neither capitulated to the People's Republic of China, nor one that seeks to provoke hostilities in the bilateral relationship. Brophy argues that this is a societal problem, not just a governmental one. An example is the predicament that Australian universities face:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brophy, David Australian historians Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Historians of Australia Harvard University alumni