Occidental College Associate Professor of History Jane Hong is one of 28 historians recently appointed to the prestigious program.
The Organization of American Historians (OAH) is the largest scholarly organization devoted to promoting excellence in scholarship, teaching, and presentation of United States history. Through sharing their scholarly research and expertise with audiences across the country, OAH Distinguished Lecturers promote understanding and appreciation of all aspects of American history, from the 1600s through the present.
Hong is a historian of U.S. immigration and engagement with the world, with a focus on Asia after World War II. She is the author of the book Opening the Gates to Asia: A Transpacific History of How America Repealed Asian Exclusion (University of North Carolina Press, 2019) and has appeared on PBS, NPR, and in the Washington Post. This summer, she led a National Endowment for the Humanities-sponsored seminar on Asian American and Pacific Islander histories for middle and high school teachers. Her forthcoming book, to be published by Oxford University Press, explores how Asian immigrants and migrants have changed U.S. evangelical institutions and politics since 1965. It also looks at the impact of the Immigration and Nationality (Hart-Celler) Act of 1965 on the history of the Christian right.
“I’m thrilled to be appointed to the Distinguished Lectureship Program alongside so many historians whose work I admire and respect,” says Hong. “Their work—tracing the histories of everything from white nationalism to voter suppression and grassroots resistance to the same—is a testament to why the research we do matters, even and especially now.”
Hong’s appointment follows in the tradition of other Oxy history faculty. Robert Glass Cleland Professor in American History Sharla Fett and Emerita Robert Glass Cleland Professor in American History Lynn Dumenil were previously appointed to the program.
