PhD Student
North America
Keren Zou (she/her) is a second-year History Ph.D. student at UC Berkeley specializing in North American history, with research interests in U.S. immigration history, comparative histories of race and ethnicity, Asian American history, and Trans-Pacific studies. Her research focuses on the transnational connections of economics, capital, and culture between the U.S. and East Asia during the period broadly known as "Asian Exclusion" (1882-1943). Her previous research examined the circulation of Ng Ka Py, a Chinese medicinal liquor, during Prohibition (1920–1933), revealing how Chinese American communities in the Bay Area navigated complex intersections of immigration law, prohibition, and medical regulation. Currently, she is developing a new project on the transpacific origins of the Chinese passport in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By drawing on both Chinese and English-language sources, this study aims to highlight the multilateral enforcement of U.S. immigration laws across the Pacific and the experiences of those who lived between two cultures.
Born and raised in Shenyang, China, Keren looks forward to working with people around the world throughout her journey.
Research Interests
- U.S. Immigration history
- Gilded Age and Progressive Era
- Comparative Race and Ethnicity
- Asian American History
- Transpacific Studies
- Chinese Diaspora
Awards & Fellowships
2025 Conference Travel Grant, UC Berkeley Graduate Division
2025 Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, UC Berkeley GSI Teaching and Resource Center
2025 Gunther Barth Research Fellowship, UC Berkeley Department of History
2023-2029 Graduate Fellowship, UC Berkeley
2023 University Award of Distinction, UCSB
2023 Dean’s Award for Outstanding Senior, UCSB College of Letters and Science
2023 A. Russell Buchanan Alumni Award, UCSB Department of History
2023 Dick Cook Memorial Award, UCSB Department of History
2023 Shig Katayama Memorial Scholarship, UCSB Department of Asian American Studies
2023 Chair's Award for Excellence in Geography, UCSB Department of Geography
2023 Outstanding Achievement in Geography Major Award, UCSB Department of Geography
2022 Margaret J. Straight Scholarship, Daughters of American Revolution (Mission Canyon Chapter)
2022 Duval Scholarship, UCSB College of Letters and Science
2021-2023 Undergraduate Research Creativity Grant, UCSB College of Letters and Science
Selected Presentations & Talks
January 2024, Organizer & Presenter, "Invisible People, Chinese Gold: Chinese in Pacific Coast Fishing and Canning Industries, 1882-1930," at the "Immigration, Transnationalism, and Global Economy" panel in 2024 AHA Annual Conference (San Francisco).
February 2023, “Santa Barbara’s Chinatown”, public talk given at Daughters of American Revolution Mission Canyon Chapter.
Education
B.A., Highest Honors, History of Public Policy and Law, Asian American Studies, and Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2023.
