Sheldon Lu

Sheldon Lu is a Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of California, Davis. He holds affiliations with East Asian Studies, Performance Studies, Cultural Studies, Film and Media Studies, Critical Theory, and Environmental Humanities. His academic career includes roles as Chair of the Department of Comparative Literature, Director of the Graduate Program in Comparative Literature, and Founding Co-Director of the Film Studies Program. Lu has taught at institutions including the University of Pittsburgh and Beijing Normal University, and served as a Fulbright scholar in Ukraine (2004-2005).

Education: B.A. (1984) and Ph.D. (1990) in Comparative Literature from Indiana University and University of Wisconsin-Madison, respectively. His research bridges literary studies, visual culture, film, and China studies. Key publications include Contemporary Chinese Cinema and Visual Culture (2021, BAFTSS Honorable Mention) and Chinese Modernity and Global Biopolitics (2007). He edited the Critical Interventions book series (2009-2019).

Lu's work has appeared in journals like New Literary History, Journal of World Literature, and Cinema Journal. Awards include the 2005 Choice Award for Chinese-Language Film: Historiography, Poetics, Politics. He has organized special journal issues on topics ranging from ecocinema to transnational Chinese cinemas.

Teaching focuses on Asian literature, film studies, critical theory, and urban culture. Notable courses include World Cinema and East-West Literary Relations.