Yu Wang

Yu Wang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at Cornell University, affiliated with the College of Arts and Sciences. He holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Toronto (2019), an M.A. in Comparative Literature from Dartmouth College, and a B.A. in English from Shantou University. His research focuses on the history of sound, data, and technology in 20th-century China, particularly exploring how technological innovations like radio and loudspeakers shaped socialist governance, auditory culture, and socio-political dynamics during the Mao era.

Wang’s current book project, All Ears: Listening to Radio in China, 1940–1976, examines the intersection of technology and politics in the People’s Republic of China. A second project investigates the global history of decibels, analyzing how acoustic knowledge intersected with gender, space, and governance worldwide. He has taught at the University of Toronto and the University of Macau before joining Cornell.

His publications engage with topics such as radio’s role in revolutionary culture, gendered auditory practices, and the historical reception of missionary texts in China. He teaches courses on science and media technologies in East Asia and the global history of data.

Wang’s research has appeared in journals like Twentieth-Century China, Journal of Chinese Women’s Studies, and Monde Chinois-Nouvelle Asie, with contributions to edited volumes and translations of historical texts. His work bridges cultural, technological, and political history, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding modern China.