Ke Li

Ke Li is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at John Jay College, City University of New York. Her research focuses on law and society, knowledge practices, and judicial politics in contemporary China, as well as the intersection of law, science, and politics.

Her educational background:

• Joint Ph.D., Sociology and Criminal Justice, Indiana University, Bloomington
• M.A., Criminal Justice, Indiana University, Bloomington
• B.A., Law, Nanjing University, China

Professor Li's research examines how women's legal mobilization and rights contention in authoritarian China forge new ground for understanding law, politics, power, and inequality. She has extended her work to Chinese courts' incorporation of scientific expertise and citizens' epistemic battles over discrimination and employment equality, arguing courts have become arenas for contesting 'scientific truths'.

Her book, Marriage Unbound: State Law, Power, and Inequality in Contemporary China (Stanford University Press, 2022), received two major awards:

• Herbert Jacob Book Prize for best book on law and society (2023)
• Victoria Schuck Award for best book on women and politics (2023)

She teaches core courses in the Law and Society Program, including Introduction to Law and Society, Research Methods, Legal Disruption Project, and the Colloquium for Research in Law and Society, mentoring students in empirical legal studies.