Professor of Sociology, Harvard University
I study the intersections of technology, law, society, and political economy. My research examines how state power, market forces, and technological change interact to reshape work, governance, and public life—from China's digital economy to the global politics of critical industries.
I am a Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology at Harvard University and a Senior Scholar at the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies. I am also affiliated with several centers at Harvard, including the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies—where I am one of the co-leaders of the Taiwan Studies initiative—the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and the Asia Center.
I was born and raised in Taiwan. My academic background bridges law and sociology—I hold an LLM and a JSD from Yale Law School, as well as a PhD in Sociology from the University of Michigan. Following my graduation from Michigan in 2013, I served as a Junior Fellow at the Society of Fellows at Harvard University from 2013 to 2016. In academic year 2018–2019, I was a visiting professor at Sciences Po in France.
My research spans political economy, political sociology, economic sociology, the sociology of work and labor, science and technology studies, law and society, the sociology of media and information technologies, development, and China studies, with a primary emphasis on qualitative and comparative methods.
My research has received numerous awards and honors from multiple sections of the American Sociological Association, the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics, the Law and Society Association, the Paris Institute for Advanced Study, the American Academy in Berlin, the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation, and Harvard University, among other organizations.
Princeton University Press, 2023
Princeton University Press, 2018
I am working on a book that traces the reconfiguration of the global economic order since around 2018—a moment many characterize as a turn away from neoliberal globalization toward an emerging post-neoliberal order. This shifting landscape is shaped by intensifying geopolitical tensions, changing patterns of foreign investment, and mounting efforts by governments to secure technological self-reliance. Centered on semiconductor manufacturing, the project examines the relocation of advanced chip production from Taiwan to the United States, while drawing shadow comparisons to parallel developments in Germany and Japan, with attention to how these shifts reconfigure state–firm–labor relations across national contexts.
Supported by the American Academy in Berlin (Berlin Prize Fellowship) and the Paris Institute for Advanced Study (FIAS Fellowship).
Journal articles and book chapters
Since 2016, I have had the privilege of advising and mentoring approximately thirty individuals from diverse backgrounds, including PhD students in the Department of Sociology, LLM and SJD students at Harvard Law School, Masters students in the Regional Studies East Asia Program, undergraduates, and postdoctoral fellows at the Fairbank Center.
I am passionate about working with students interested in exploring the intersection between technology, law, society, economy, and politics.
I welcome inquiries about research collaborations, speaking invitations, and prospective student advising. Feel free to reach out.