Experts at Empire State College

A. Tom Grunfeld
SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor
New York City, NY

Expertise

• Modern East Asian History (China, Vietnam, Japan)
• U.S. History
• Foreign Relations of the United States
• Media

Profile

A. Tomasz Grunfeld, a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor, specializes in Central and East Asian studies, at Empire State College’s Metropolitan Center in Manhattan. Besides such areas as Modern East Asian history, Grunfeld teaches students in the foreign relations of the United States and critical media studies. He has lived and traveled widely in Asia, and written a number of books, including The Making of Modern Tibet, (M.E. Sharpe, Inc.), as well as articles, reviews and scholarly presentations. He is the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, and has been a consultant to BBC TV. Grunfeld holds memberships in the American Historical Association; the Association for Asian Studies; and the Historical Society for Twentieth Century China.

He is widely sought as a speaker and commentator on the issues concerning the relationship between China, Tibet and the U.S. as well as U.S. policy regarding the movement for Tibet’s independence.

Grunfeld earned his B.A. at SUNY Old Westbury, his M.A. in Far Eastern studies (Chinese history) from the University of London/School of Oriental and African Studies; and his Ph.D. in modern Chinese history from New York University.