Yen-Yu Lin

(she/her/她)

I am a global and transnational sociologist using qualitative methods to study race, empires, and material culture. 

View my CV

I received my sociology Ph.D. from the University of Virginia (UVa). In August 2023, I started as Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at DePauw University (tenure-track)

My general research interests are at the intersections of global and transnational sociology and comparative-historical sociology. My specific research keywords include material culture, empires, race, and intersectionality. I am particularly interested in the relationship between material culture and systems of domination and how this relationship historically affects marginalized people. 

I am working on a book project titled "Colors of Empire: Visualizing Race in Taiwan under Japanese Colonial Rule." My other working research projects include (1) "contouring system" theory on race in colonial Taiwan; (2) Self-Racialization in Japan and Korea (co-authored paper).

My publications are written in Mandarin, Japanese, and English,  in academic and popular writing formats. 

At DePauw, I teach Introduction to Sociology, Social Theory, Global and Transnational Sociology, and Sociology of Art.

Prior to my Assistant Professorship, I TA'ed for Criminology, Intro to Sociology, and Intro to Political Science. I am committed to teaching difficult topics such as class, race, and gender from a comparative perspective.

Prior to my Ph.D. studies, I was trained in political science at National Taiwan University (Taiwan) and Waseda University (Japan). 

My ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8443-9298

COMMUNITY OUTREACH