Gail Hershatter is an American historian of Modern China who holds the Distinguished Professor of History chair at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She previously taught in the history department at Williams College. She graduated from Hampshire College with a B.A., from Stanford University with a M.A., and from Stanford University with a Ph.D. She was elected vice-president of the Association for Asian Studies in 2010 and subsequently elected president the following year.She was an assistant director for the documentary The Gate of Heavenly Peace.