Jean Y.C. Lin

Jean Y.C. Lin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at California State University, East Bay. His research focuses on social movements, environmental organizing, and civic participation, particularly examining how middle-class homeownership in Beijing since the 2000s has enabled collective action against environmental threats. He is a core member of the Stanford Civic Life of Cities Lab (CLC), leading the Taipei Team and co-directing the Civic Life of Cities under COVID-19 project, which analyzed nonprofit responses to the pandemic across six U.S. regions. Lin’s work also explores labor movements, international NGOs, and community-based associational life in authoritarian contexts.

He holds a Ph.D. and has published a book, A Spark in the Smokestacks: Environmental Organizing in Beijing Middle-class Communities, which details urban community organizing dynamics. Lin’s office is located at MI 4029, and he is not teaching during the 2024-25 academic year.