Cheng LiView profile
Assistant Professor
Cheng Li is an Assistant Professor of Chinese Studies and Modern Languages at Carnegie Mellon University. His research bridges literary scholarship, cultural history, and environmental humanities, focusing on modern China's ecological and cultural transformations. Modern Chinese Literature, Film, and Culture Environmental Humanities (Ecocriticism & Environmental History) Science Fiction Subaltern Studies Migration Studies Li explores Chinese environmental literature and cinema through interdisciplinary lenses, examining how ecological narratives intersect with national identity, ethnic resilience, and transnational dialogues. His work spans topics like forestry campaigns in socialist China, climate change in Late Qing science fiction, and migrant worker narratives. Recent publications include peer-reviewed articles in Prism , ISLE , Journal of Chinese Cinemas , and Environmental History . His first book, Contested Environmentalisms: Trees and the Making of Modern China (Stanford University Press, 2025), analyzes contradictions in Chinese conservationism from the early 20th century to the present. Scientific Awards Marston Anderson Prize (2022) East Asian Prize Fellowship (2021-2022) Environmental Humanities Certificate (Yale, 2020) Falk Research Grant (CMU, 2023) Li serves as a reviewer for ISLE and the Journal of Poyang Lake , and his teaching includes courses on Chinese environmental literature, science fiction, and language proficiency.