Emily Mokros is a historian of late imperial and modern China with interests in cultural, urban, and political history.

In addition to continuing interest in historical uses of information and media in late imperial China, Mokros is at work on a book project on the imperial capital city, Beijing, during a decade of war. While usually perceived as insulated from mid-nineteenth century wars like the Taiping Civil War (1850-1864) and the Second Opium War (1856-1860), the capital region in fact experienced a series of resource, security, and economic crises that transformed daily life and capital administration alike. 

Her first book, The Peking Gazette in Late Imperial China: State News and Political Authority, was published by University of Washington Press in 2021. It traces the untold story of a distinctive state periodical, the Peking Gazette (jingbao). The book explores how the Peking Gazette contributed to momentous shifts in political culture in Qing China and influenced representations of the Qing state at home and abroad. This project draws on archival and library research conducted at various sites in Asia, Europe, and the United States.

Dr. Mokros teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on Chinese, East Asian, and global history.

In Spring 2023 Mokros is on leave as a Member of the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.