My core research interests concern transnational and transimperial histories, the history of Sino-Western interaction, and colonial society and culture. I am especially drawn to experimenting with and promoting global-microhistorical methods. Through these core interests my research considers the ways ideas about race, gender, culture, and national identity solidified or transformed within colonial and semi-colonial spaces. My dissertation focused on Anglo-American relations in nineteenth-century China, and how competition and collaboration between the British, Americans, and Chinese influenced the development of Hong Kong society. I am currently revising this work for publication as well as pursuing further projects that emphasize the global social, cultural, and commercial networks linking America to China and to the British imperial world.

I am also generally interested in promoting the use of public-access tools for historical learning and in exploring the applications of digital humanities tools within qualitative research. I am currently developing my 'Mapping American Socio-Commercial Networks & Mobility in Nineteenth-Century China' project with the support of a British Academy Talent Development Award. Until April 2021 I also oversaw the social-media side of the Historical Photographs of China project (hpcbristol).