Tiger Profile: Timothy (Tim) Brook

Professor of History, University of British Columbia

After studying at the University of Toronto, Tim spent two years at Beijing and Fudan universities in the mid-1970s. In 1982, Tim had the privilege of teaching two courses for Mrs. Lin at Wellesley College while writing his doctoral dissertation. He completed his doctoral degree in Chinese History from Harvard University in 1984, and taught at University of Toronto, Stanford University, and Oxford University before settling at University of British Columbia. A historian of China since the 13th century, Tim writes on politics, society, culture, and China’s engagements with the world. He has published twelve books, most of which have been translated into Chinese and other languages. Among his more popular titles are The Confusions of Pleasure, Vermeer’s Hat, Mr. Selden’s Map of China, and most recently, Great State: China and the World. Editor or co-editor of another nine titles, he also served as editor-in-chief of Harvard University Press’s six-volume history of imperial China, a bestseller in China.