Michelle Mengsu Chang

Michelle Mengsu Chang is a fifth year PhD student in the field of Transnational, International and Global History. She studies totalitarianism in the 20th century, with particular interest in the interface between state and individual under totalitarianism, and ways in which economic organization and material culture influence political consciousness and identity. Her dissertation explores the transformation of everyday life and the contestation between political ideology and economic changes in China during the late 1970s and early 80s. 

Michelle received her B.A. in Economics from UC Berkeley and an M.A. from Yale University. After graduating from Yale, Michelle worked as a research associate at the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin, Germany. Michelle was born in Harbin in northeastern China, and has lived in the former Soviet Union, Australia, and Canada before studying in the United States. Beyond history, she also has a passion for photography.