Shu Yang

Photo of Shu Yang
Shu Yang
Associate Professor and Advisor of Chinese
Office: 
(269) 387-3212
Fax: 
(269) 387-6333
Location: 
414 Sprau Tower, Mail Stop 5338
Mailing address: 
Department of World Languages and Literatures
Western Michigan University
1903 W Michigan Ave
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5338 USA
Office hours: 

By appointment

Education: 
  • Ph.D., East Asian Languages and Literatures, University of Oregon, 2016
  • M.A., Comparative Literature, Beijing Normal University, 2009
  • B.A., Chinese Language and Literature, Beijing Normal University, 2006
Research interests: 
  • Late imperial, modern, and contemporary Chinese literary and cultural studies
  • Gender studies
Bio: 

Dr. Shu Yang is an associate professor and advisor of Chinese in the Department of World Languages and Literatures at Western Michigan University.

Dr. Yang received her Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Literatures from the University of Oregon and her M.A. in Comparative Literature from Beijing Normal University in China. Prior to joining WMU, she was an assistant professor of Asian Studies and Chinese at Sewanee: The University of the South.

Dr. Yang’s research interests include modern and contemporary Chinese literature, cinema, theater, cultural history and gender studies. Her publications include books, refereed journal articles, book reviews, translations, and book chapters, with a focus on images and social practices of the new women throughout China’s 20th century. Her recent book "Untamed Shrews: Negotiating New Womanhood in Modern China" (Cornell University Press, 2023) traces the evolution of unruly women in Chinese literature, from the reviled “shrew” to the celebrated “new woman.” Her current book project centers on the discourse of hysteria in Republican China.

Dr. Yang has received major awards including European Association for Chinese Studies Young Scholar Award (2018), WMU College of Arts and Sciences Women's Caucus Gender Scholar Award (2020), WMU College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Achievement Award in Research and Creative Activity (2023).