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. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

. He is currently a professor of history at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

. 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 (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the wor ...

SOAS University of London SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) 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 are ...

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

Beijing Language Institute } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

in China. After holding fellowships in

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, 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.

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 works ...

. Rana Mitter in the

New York Review of Books New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

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. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

. 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 Swire Group () is a Hong Kong- and London-based British conglomerate. Many of its core businesses can be found within the Asia Pacific region, where traditionally Swire's operations have centred on Hong Kong and mainland China. Within Asia ...

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 Living people 1964 births Historians of China Historians of colonialism Historians of the British Empire Academics of the University of Bristol Alumni of SOAS University of London Beijing Language and Culture University alumni