I hold a Ph.D. degree in Communication and Media from the University of Michigan, where I was a Graduate Student Instructor between 2019 and 2021. I served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Boston College between 2023 and 2024. (Cover photo by Natalie Ngai)
Here are the courses I taught:
as Instructor of Record
Media Affects and Emotions (original course)
Digital Media Fundamentals (original course)
Communication Methods: Social Science
(Photo by Natalie Ngai)
as Teaching Assistant
Digital Media Foundations
Public Speaking
Introduction to Communication
(CC licensed. Credit: Wikipedia Commons.)
🎤invited talks
The Mass Seduction of Cuteness in the Past and Present. University of Southern California, invited by Henry Jenkins. April 2026.
China Studies Forum: The Mass Seduction of Cuteness. Loyola Marymount University, invited by Yu Li. April 2026.
Objects of Obsession: Toys and Cuteness as Cultural Phenomenon. (Public roundtable with Dr. Bin Chen, Dr. Lui Tai-lok, and Ingrid Pui Yee Chu). Asia Society Hong Kong, invited by Chris Wan. Dec 2025.
Pet Instagram: Women and Their Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars. Lancaster University, invited by Laura Clancy. Feb 2025.
Mediated Animal-human Relations. Harvard University, invited by Sheila Jasanoff. April 2024.
Microcelebrity. Boston College, invited by Mo Jones-Jang. October 2023.
Digital Pets. University of Toronto, invited by Jackman Humanities Institute. November 2022.
Digital Media Aesthetics. University of Michigan, invited by Christian Sandvig. March 2021.
Gender, Race, and Media. University of Michigan, invited by Megan Ankerson. September 2019.
Women in the News. Hong Kong Baptist University, invited by Angel H.Y. Lai. June 2018.
She Objects. St. Catharine’s School for Girls, invited by The Women’s Foundation. September 2017.
Popular Culture and Critical Theory. Hong Kong Baptist University, invited by Howard Y.F. Choy. March 2017.
"I am my students' tour guide. I want them to experience the most and the best."