Dr. Ya Wen Lei

Biography

Ya-Wen Lei is a Professor in the Department of Sociology at Harvard University. She specializes in political sociology, law and society, economic sociology, media and information technologies, labor movements, and Chinese studies. She received her LL.M. and J.S.D. from Yale Law School and holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Michigan. Dr. Lei graduated from Michigan in 2013, and is a former Junior Fellow at the Society of Fellows at Harvard University (2013–2016). During the 2018–2019 academic year, she served as a visiting professor at Sciences Po in France. Her notable publications include 'Contentious Public Sphere: Law, Media, Authoritarian Rule in China' (Princeton University Press, 2018) and 'Gilded Cage: Techno-State Capitalism in China' (Princeton University Press, 2023). Dr. Lei's work has been featured in leading sociological journals and has received awards from the American Sociological Association and the Law and Society Association.

Research Interests