Henry Yu

Biographical Sketch

Henry Yu is an Associate Professor of History at the University of British Columbia, and the Principal of St. John’s College, UBC’s international graduate student college. He is the author of Thinking Orientals: Migration, Contact, and Exoticism in Modern America (Oxford, 2001) and was the Project Lead for the $1.17 million “Chinese Canadian Stories” public history and education project (2010-2012). His current research interests include the history of fascination with interracial sex, Chinese migrations and the development of the “Cantonese Pacific” in the 19th and 20th century, and historical and contemporary engagements between Chinese migrants and indigenous communities within the Pacific basin, in particular research on Chinese and First Nations historical heritage sites along the Fraser River corridor. He serves as the Co-Chair for the Legacy Initiatives Advisory Council for the Province of British Columbia overseeing legacy projects following its historic apology in May 2014 for BC’s history of anti-Chinese legislation, and between 2009-2012, he was the Co-Chair of the City of Vancouver’s project, “Dialogues between First Nations, Urban Aboriginal, and Immigrant Communities” (http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/socialplanning/dialoguesproject) In 2012 Dr. Yu received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his community service and leadership.