Rate My Professor Minerva Inwald

Dr Minerva Inwald is Assistant Lecturer in Chinese History in the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne. Her research centres on the history of the People’s Republic of China, with a focus on visual art, material culture, and the intersections of art, class, and politics in socialist China. She draws on visual and material sources to explore these themes and incorporates everyday objects and ephemera in her teaching to illuminate lived experience.

Dr Inwald completed her PhD at the University of Sydney in modern Chinese history. Prior to joining the University of Melbourne, she held the position of UNSW Judith Neilson Post-Doctoral Fellow of Contemporary Art. She has curated exhibitions of contemporary Chinese art and served as Secretary of the Asian Studies Association of Australia from 2021 to 2024. Her academic journey began with studies combining Chinese language and art history, leading to a sustained engagement with Chinese visual culture.