Education
BA Furman University, 2015
M.A., Chinese History, UNC
PhD, UNC-CH, 2023
Research Interests
Since graduating with a Ph.D. in 2023, Donald has been deploying his research and language background as an Open Source Intelligence Analyst, answering diverse questions about Chinese politics, military, and culture for national security and corporate clients. Donald's ongoing research interests revolve around propaganda, media systems, and newspaper culture in recent Chinese history. His dissertation engaged with the Chinese-socialist media landscape through a variety of lenses, including consumption of material in public “newspaper reading groups,” the analysis of Chinese-socialist advertising culture in the People’s Daily newspaper, and the practice of amateur journalism and journalistic practices across local newspaper bureaus in Anhui province. His research leverages ‘sinological garbology’ to acquire difficult-to-locate historical documents from flea markets and rare book shops, challenging the narratives of media production often posed by more traditional repositories of historical information, such as state-controlled archives.
Recent Public Engagements
https://global.unc.edu/event/rumor-chinese-diets-and-covid-19-questions-and-answers-about-chinese-food-and-eating-habits/