Dr. Jonathan Skaff
Professor of History and Director of International Studies
Degrees
- D, University of Michigan (History)
- MA, University of Michigan (History)
- BA, Hobart College (History)
Research Interests
- Medieval China
- Norther Frontier
- Silk Road
Courses Taught
- History 105: Historical Foundations of Global Cultures
- History 106: Modern World History
- History 350: History of Modern Japan
- History 354: Traditional China
- History 355: Modern China
- History 383: Selected Asian Studies Topics
- History 397: Seminar in Comparative History
- International Studies 200: Introduction to International Studies Concepts and Methods
- International Studies 300: International Studies Seminar
Major Publications
- Silk Roads and Steppe Roads of Medieval China: History Unearthed from Tombs. Princeton University Press, Rostovtzeff Series, in press, Forthcoming, 2025.
- Sui-Tang China and Its Turko-Mongol Neighbors: Culture, Power and Connections, 580-800. New York: Oxford University Press, Oxford Studies in Early Empires, 2012.
Profile
Dr. Jonathan Skaff is a Professor of History and Director of International Studies at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania where he has taught since 1999. He teaches courses on the history of China, Japan, the Silk Road, World History, and International Studies. After teaching English in China in the mid-1980s, Skaff pursued graduate study at The University of Michigan where he received his Ph.D. in history in 1998. His research concerns medieval China’s frontier interactions with Inner Asia and investigates various aspects of political, military, cultural and economic relations. He delivered the annual M. I. Rostovtzeff Lectures and was a visiting research scholar at New York University’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World in 2015-2016. Other honors include fellowship support from the National Endowment for Humanities, Institute for Advanced Study, and American Philosophical Society. In addition to writing two books, he has published book chapters from publishers such as Cambridge, Harvard and Oxford university presses, and peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Asia Major and Journal of World History.