Peidong Sun

Overview

                        Statement of Interest & Brief Bio (Election Season Only)

Yes—I am running for Faculty Trustee. For a limited time only (April 15–29, 2026), this page will feature a statement of interest and a brief bio—making this perhaps the most electorally upgraded version of my profile you’ll ever see.

                         Peidong Sun. A Clear Voice for Shared Responsibility

                                  Voting Period: April 15–29, 2026

Statement of Interest

I am running for faculty trustee at a moment demanding clear judgment, a steady voice, and strong commitment to Cornell’s academic mission. 

The faculty voices most directly heard by the trustees need to be those of individuals who have a primary commitment to working productively together to achieve our shared goals, and who are open to perspectives they may not yet have considered.  

As faculty trustee, I would represent the tenure-track faculty, RTE faculty, staff, and the broader academic community.  My perspective is grounded in active learning, attentive listening, and informed by the generosity, kindness, and care I have experienced at Cornell day after day, in ways both heartfelt and profound.

My colleagues/neighbors have made this place a home. When I have had to travel or been overwhelmed, they have offered to mow my lawn, shovel the snow from my sidewalk, and because I cannot drive, have even included me in weekly grocery shopping. These gestures have been a constant in my life here, and they matter.

Our staff carry the same spirit. When I needed extra chairs for class visitors, Louise, the MAW building caregiver, called a colleague in Uris Hall and found them within half an hour. With quiet efficiency and real care, this is Cornell at work.

And our students remind me why these values matter. Like many colleagues, I receive greeting cards from current and former students every year. One student gave me a bouquet of knitted pink carnations, the same kind she had made for her mother on Mother’s Day. They have been blooming in my reading room ever since.

My parents have taught me to return a single drop of kindness with a flowing spring. That is why I run for faculty trustee, to give back to Cornell with all I have, for all it has given me and my family.

Cornell is home, the only one I count on. I run for faculty trustee because I want, when I retire, to say I gave Cornell my best and used the opportunity to build a meaningful dialog between the trustees who oversee Cornell’s policies at the very broadest level and the faculty, staff and community who confront the day-to-day challenges.  

Together, we will build a more connected, more supportive, stronger Cornell for the future.

A Brief Bio 

My academic training and career have been shaped by international experience across multiple intellectual and institutional traditions. With doctoral degrees in law from China and sociology from France, and academic work spanning Asian and European universities, I bring a comparative perspective on state–academia relations, higher education and institutional governance that reflects Cornell’s character as an internationally renowned university.

As the Distinguished Associate Professor of Arts & Sciences in China and Asia-Pacific Studies, my research examines institutions, political systems, and global change, with particular attention to China’s authoritarian system and its impact on everyday life, political consciousness, and historical memory from the Mao era to the present. I am the author of two monographs and one edited volume, with a fourth forthcoming this year, and three additional book projects underway. My 2025 book, Unfiltered Regard for China: French Perspectives from Mao to Xi, examines how professors and universities sustain their academic mission in complex and sometimes constrained environments. This work has shaped my understanding of the conditions that allow great universities to endure and thrive over time.

My work has been published in Chinese, English, and French, reflecting my commitment to transnational and multilingual scholarship. I have held visiting and research positions at leading institutions worldwide, including Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, Sciences Po, Heidelberg, University of Melbourne, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. I have also taught in China, France, and Germany, an experience that continues to inform my global and comparative approach to research, teaching, and service.

At Cornell, I teach undergraduate and graduate courses on modern China, global Maoism, U.S.-China relations, cross-listed with History, Asian Studies, China and Asia-Pacific Studies, History of Art and Visual Studies, Asian Languages and Cultures, Cornell Society for the Humanities, and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. My teaching emphasizes critical inquiry into power, dignity, and historical interpretation in national and global contexts.

As an active, non-administrative faculty member committed to principled governance and the long-term academic future of our university, I contribute to shared governance and institutional life. Since 2023, I have been serving as a Faculty Senator and as member of the Senate Nominations and Elections Committee. I am also a member of the Cornell Humanities Council, a core faculty member of the East Asia Program, China and Asia-Pacific Studies, and a faculty affiliate of the Cornell Institute for China Economic Research, SC Johnson College of Business. Through these roles, I support faculty governance, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the broader academic mission of our university.

These commitments guide how I think about Cornell’s future: a university whose strength depends not only on transformative innovation, but also on intellectual excellence, international leadership, and principled stewardship of its academic mission.

I bring the perspective of a mid-career faculty member with a long-term commitment to Cornell’s future. Having joined Cornell during a period of rapid transformation in higher education, I am mindful of the decisions that will shape our university in the decades ahead. The role of faculty trustee calls for independence, careful listening, and engagement across disciplines, and I would approach it with a collaborative and forward-looking spirit. 

...........................................................................................................................................

I am interested in how the Chinese Communist Party’s authoritarian regime has shaped everyday life, political consciousness, and historical memory in China— from the upheaval of the Mao Zedong era, through Deng Xiaoping’s reforms, to the consolidation of power under Xi Jinping. My third book, Unfiltered Regard for China, traces French scholars' six-decades-long transnational state–academia relations, revealing not only the nature of the CCP regime but also the evolution of France’s policy of engagement with Beijing.

In attempting to grasp the intricacies of life during the Mao era, I have reflected on the Chinese political system: How can China's authoritarian regime, despite recurring challenges and upheavals, demonstrate such continuity over time? What roles have ordinary Chinese citizens played—whether through adaptation, negotiation, and resistance—in sustaining or shaping this system from within? How did they interpret their experiences under shifting political and social conditions, and what kinds of lessons or understandings did they draw from those encounters? 

These questions, and its broader implications, have been a central focus of my research. While many esteemed colleagues have examined elite politics and power dynamics during the Mao era, I have sought to explore the lived experiences of ordinary people—their routines and the subtle politics embedded within—areas I felt merited closer attention. 

My aim is not necessarily to evaluate the success or failure of China’s communist revolution since 1949, but to explore its long-term effects on individuals, society, and China’s evolving relationship with the wider world.

Very fortunately, I have had the opportunity to engage in scholarly discussions in English,  French, and Chinese. Over the years, I have contributed articles to respected journals such as The China Quarterly, The Chinese Historical Review, and Foreign Affairs, written books in Chinese and English, and participated in various other academic projects. In 2016, I collaborated on a special issue for The China Quarterly, and in 2017, I contributed to a volume on the Chinese Cultural Revolution published by Cambridge University Press. 

That same year, I also had the privilege of interviewing former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz (under the Reagan administration), who was 97 at the time. The interview, titled “Governance, Diversity, and China Since the 1950s: An Interview with George P. Shultz,” was later published in The Chinese Historical Review.  Currently, I am working on several projects, including three monographs and a memoir.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a revelation for me. Alongside key shifts in my academic path since 2019, it has deeply influenced my development as both a person and a scholar. As China’s global role grows, strategic competition among major powers intensifies, and debates over democracy and authoritarianism reframed international discourse, my work has increasingly turned toward interpreting the nature of the CCP regime, China’s political evolution, societal changes, and global ambitions. 

Meanwhile, as access to China becomes more limited and academic freedom faces mounting constraints, the mission of studying China has become both more complex and more essential. In these conditions, I believe it is important to proceed with intellectual humility, ethical responsibility, and a commitment to scholarly inquiry.

Research Focus

Forthcoming Books(Able Agent Sought) 

1. Red DNA: How the Cultural Revolution Has Shaped the Xi Jinping Generation.
2. The CCP Mind: A Hidden Story.
3. Crossing the Three Great Walls: A Memoir
4. Fashion and Politics during China's Cultural Revolution(London: Bloomsbury, 2026)

Research Focus

My first book, Who Will Marry My Daughter (Beijing: Chinese Social Sciences Press, 2012; 2013), examines how parents' experiences during the Mao era shaped their perspectives on their children's mate choices, particularly for those children born after China's economic opening in 1978. A curious trend has manifested since 2005: urban parks in major Chinese cities have become matchmaking hubs. Though countless parents congregate every weekend and holiday with hopes of finding potential spouses for their adult children, success remains elusive. I probe this phenomenon, suggesting that while these markets might not yield many matches, they serve as an emotional outlet for a generation facing the collective anxieties brought about by rapid market-driven changes and increasing individualism.

My second book, Fashion and Politics (Beijing: People’s Publishing House, 2013), explores the subtleties of everyday sartorial practices, choices, conformity and resistance in Guangdong province during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). I present three findings. First, Guangdong's proximity to Hong Kong and Macao significantly influenced local fashion. Many residents received clothing packages from relatives abroad. Second, the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, persisting even during the Cultural Revolution, became a source of sartorial inspiration. Locals often observed and were influenced by the diverse attire of foreign attendees, which contrasted with their standard revolutionary garb. Finally, these sartorial trends set the stage for a major fashion transformation in China from the late 1970s to the 1980s. My book challenges prevalent stereotypes of monochromatic, uniform, and gender-neutral dress codes during the Cultural Revolution, highlighting the presence of regionally distinctive and gender-specific choices.

By merging insights from everyday clothing fashion with the intricacies of mate choices, I've strived for a comprehensive understanding of changing perceptions and dynamics within the PRC. Both books, as pioneering works in their respective areas, have been warmly received. Fortunately, Who Will Marry My Daughter achieved best-seller status in 2013, selling 10,000 copies within two months of its debut.

My third book, Unfiltered Regard for China: French Perspectives from Mao to Xi, investigates the history, politics, and society of China through the perspectives of three generations of French scholars. It illuminates a six-decades-long transnational “scholar–state nexus” under CCP rule in mainland China, revealing not only the nature of the CCP regime but also the evolution of France’s policy of engagement with Beijing.