Distinguished Chinese-American author and historian Iris Chang will be speaking at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13, in Hoyt Auditorium on the University of Rochester’s River Campus. Tickets are $5 for the general public, $3 for University faculty and staff and other college students with ID, and free for University undergraduates with ID. Tickets are available at the Common Market in Wilson Commons on the River Campus.
Chang, considered one of the nation’s leading young historians, has written three critically acclaimed books: Thread of the Silkworm, The Rape of Nanking, and her most recent work, The Chinese in America: A Narrative History.
The Rape of Nanking, her critically acclaimed international bestseller, examines one of the most tragic chapters of World War II: the slaughter, rape, and torture of hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians by Japanese soldiers in the former capital of China. Published by Basic Books in December 1997, on the 60th anniversary of the massacre, and in paperback by Penguin in 1998, The Rape of Nanking, the first, full-length English-language narrative of the atrocity to reach a wide audience, remained on the New York Times bestseller list for several months and was cited by Bookman Review Syndicate as one of the best books of 1997.
Chang’s many accolades include the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Program on Peace and International Cooperation Award, the Woman of the Year award from the Organization of Chinese Americans, and an honorary doctorate from the College of Wooster. Chang has written for numerous publications, such as the New York Times, Newsweek and the Los Angeles Times, and has been featured by countless radio, television and print media, including Nightline, the Jim Lehrer News Hour, Charlie Rose, Good Morning America, and C-Span’s Booknotes. Chang also lectures frequently before business groups, university groups, and others interested in human rights, World War II history, Cold War history, the Asian-American experience, Sino-American relations, and the future of American civil liberties.
Born in Princeton, N.J., and raised in Champaign-Urbana, Ill., Chang earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Illinois in 1989. She worked briefly as a reporter for the Associated Press and the Chicago Tribune before completing a graduate degree in writing from Johns Hopkins University and launching her career as a full-time author and lecturer.
Chang’s appearance is being sponsored by the Chinese Students Association and will be followed by a reception and book signing. For more information, contact (585) 274-2721.