Yanjie Wang

Biography

Yanjie Wang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies and serves as the Coordinator for its Asian and Pacific Studies program. She holds a Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Cultures from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, an M.A. from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a B.A. from Peking University. Professor Wang’s research topics include displacement, migration, migrant workers, ethnic minorities, ecocriticism, trauma, violence, and gender and sexuality. Her most recent work explores the aesthetics and ethics of representing ecological crises in contemporary Chinese cinema. She is currently working on projects that examine the portrayal of China’s ethnic minorities through transborder and translocal lenses.

Education (3)

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Ph.D., East Asian Languages and Cultures

Chinese University of Hong Kong: M.Phil., Chinese Language and Literature

Peking University: B.A., Chinese Language and Literature (Summa Cum Laude)

Social

Areas of Expertise (7)

Chinese cinema

Modern Chinese literature and culture

Displacement and Migration

Ecocinema

Ethnic Minorities

Trauma and Violence

Gender and Sexuality

Courses (7)

Contemporary Chinese Cinema

ASPA 3890

East Asian Cinema

FYS1000

Hong Kong Cinema

ASPA 3960

Masterpieces of East Asian Literature

ASPA 3200

Modern Chinese Literature and Culture

ASPA 3998

Women in Asia

ASPA 4200

Senior Integrating Seminar

ASPA 5000

Articles (9)

Wounded Bodies: Grim Beauty and Environmental Injustice in Zhao Liang’s Behemoth

Journal of Cinema and Media Studies

Yanjie Wang, “Wounded Bodies: Grim Beauty and Environmental Injustice in Zhao Liang’s Behemoth,” JCMS 63, no. 1 (Fall 2023): 124–149.

Films of Refection and Nativity

Routledge Handbook of Modern Chinese Literature

Yanjie Wang, "Films of Refection and Nativity" in Ming Dong Gu ed, Routledge Handbook of Modern Chinese Literature. London & New York: Routledge, 2018. Pp. 462-474.

Ghostly Haunting and Moral Interrogation in Wang Xiaoshuai's Red Amnesia

Journal of Modern Chinese Literature and Culture

Yanjie Wang, "Ghostly Haunting and Moral Interrogation in Wang Xiaoshuai's Red Amnesia." Journal of Modern Chinese Literature and Culture, 29. 2 (2017): 34-65

Trauma, Migrant family, and Neoliberal Fantasies in Last Train Home

Concentric: Literary and Cultural Studies

Yanjie Wang, “Trauma, Migrant family, and Neoliberal Fantasies in Last Train Home.” Concentric: Literary and Cultural Studies, 42.1 (2016): 49-72.

Violence, Wuxia, Migrants: Jia Zhangke’s Cinematic Discontent in A Touch of Sin.

Journal of Chinese Cinemas

Yanjie Wang, “Violence, Wuxia, Migrants: Jia Zhangke’s Cinematic Discontent in A Touch of Sin.” Journal of Chinese Cinemas, 9.2 (2015): 159-172.

Heterogeneous Time and Space: Han Shaogong’s Rethinking of Chinese Modernity

KronoScope: Journal for the Study of Time

Yanjie Wang, “Heterogeneous Time and Space: Han Shaogong’s Rethinking of Chinese Modernity.” KronoScope: Journal for the Study of Time, 15.1 (2015): 26-42.

Remapping Emotion and Desire: Same-Sex Romance in Ah Cheng’s The King of Chess

American Journal of Chinese Studies

Yanjie Wang, “Remapping Emotion and Desire: Same-Sex Romance in Ah Cheng’s The King of Chess.” American Journal of Chinese Studies, 21.1 (2014): 45-60.

Displaced in the Simulacrum: Migrant Workers and Urban Space in The World

Asian Cinema

Yanjie Wang, “Displaced in the Simulacrum: Migrant Workers and Urban Space in The World.” Asian Cinema, 22.1(2011): 152-169.

Contention of Lust, Caution: Sexuality, Visuality and Female Subjectivity

Situations: Cultural Studies in the Asian Context

Yanjie Wang, “Contention of Lust, Caution: Sexuality, Visuality and Female Subjectivity,” Situations: Cultural Studies in the Asian Context, 4 (2010): 41-60.