Lena Scheen

Assistant Professor of Global China Studies

Email: lms14@nyu.edu

Room 1222

Office Phone: +86 (21) 20595127

Lena Scheen is Assistant Professor Faculty Fellow at NYU Shanghai. Prior to joining NYU Shanghai, she taught at Leiden University and the University of Amsterdam. She holds a PhD from Leiden University and was a Postdoctoral Fellow with the International Institute for Asian Studies. Scheen is a member of the Urban Knowledge Network Asia (UKNA).

Scheen’s research explores the social and cultural impact of China’s fast urbanization, focusing on Shanghai. Her publications include Shanghai Literary Imaginings: A City in Transformation (Amsterdam University Press, 2015) and the edited volume Spectacle and the City: Chinese Urbanities in Popular Culture and Art (AUP, 2013). 

Research Interests

  • Urbanization in China
  • Shanghai history and culture
  • Chinese literature
  • Contemporary urban cinema and art
  • Urban renewal

Courses Taught

  • Global Orientations: Introduction to Contemporary China
  • Shanghai Stories
  • Growing Shanghai, Shrinking Detroit
  • Global Connections
  • Social and Cultural Debates in 20th Century China

Education

  • PhD, Chinese Literature
    Leiden University, 2012
  • MA, Chinese Studies
    Leiden University, 2004