
Professor Niki J.P. Alsford
Professor in Asia Pacific Studies, Head of Asia Pacific Institutes/School Research Lead
School of Humanities, Language & Global Studies
Niki Alsford is Professor in Asia Pacific Studies at the School of Humanities, Language and Global Studies at UCLan. Alsford welcomes proposals for doctoral research on Asian Pacific society and culture. He is particularly keen on proposals pertaining to Taiwan and the wider Pacific Ocean.
He is co-Editor of the Routledge Research on Korea series, and the Taiwan Series at BRILL.
Alsford is Director of the Institute for the Study of the Asia Pacific; Co-Director of the International Institute of Korean Studies; Co-Director of the Northern Institute of Taiwan Studies and is Chair of the Centre of Austronesian Studies. He is also an appointed Research Associate at the Centre of Taiwan Studies at SOAS, the University of London and is a Research Fellow at the Ewha Institute of Unification Studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea.
He is an elected Fellow of Royal Asiatic Society and the Royal Anthropological Institute. He works as a Country of Origin Expert for Taiwan, North Korea, and the Pacific Islands for AMERA and the International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI).
As a historical anthropologist his research focuses on comparative ethno-histories. Chief among these is an engagement with Taiwan Austronesian migration and the historical anthropology of maritime Asia Pacific region. In addition to this, he works on developmental anthropology in North Korea and climate anthropology in the case of the Pacific. He has published widely on these issues.
He is available for Radio, Television, and Press, for all matters relating to Taiwan, North Korea, and the Pacific Islands.
- PhD Modern East Asian History, SOAS, the University of London 2015
- MA Asia Pacific Studies, National Chengchi University, 2011
- Bsc (Hons) Applied Social Science (Anthropology/Criminology), University of Southampton, 2006
- North American Taiwan Professors Association (NATPA), 2018
- Anthropology
- Climate Change
- Sustainable Development
- Editor-in-Chief, Asia Pacific Viewpoint, since 2022
- Fellow of the Explorers Club, Great Britain & Ireland Chapter, since 2021
- REF Unit of Assessment Lead for Area Studies
- Country of Origin Expert (Taiwan), AMERA International, since 2020
- Country of Origin Expert (North Korea), AMERA International, since 2020
- Country of Origin Expert (Pacific Islands), AMERA International, since 2020
- Nominated Fellow of Royal Anthropological Institute, since 2019
- Editorial Board Member, Asian Institute of Research, since 2018
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Since 2017
- Book Series Editor, BRILL Series in Taiwan Studies, (Leiden: BRILL), since 2017
- Book Series Editor, Routledge Korean Series (London: Routledge), since 2019
- Editorial Board Member, World Journal of Social Science Research (WJSSR), since 2016
- Editorial Board Member, Asian Social Science (ASS), since 2016
- United Nations Country of Origin Expert (Taiwan), International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) – since 2015
- Nominated Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society since 2013
- Ewha Global Fellow of the Ewha Womans University, 2023
Telephone:+44 (0)1772 894137
Email: Email:Professor Niki J.P. Alsford
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