Eugenia Y. Lean

Eugenia Lean received her BA from Stanford University (1990), and her MA (1996) and PhD (2001) from UCLA. She studies late imperial and modern Chinese history with a particular focus on the history of science and industry, mass media, consumer culture, emotions and gender, as well as law and urban society. She is the author of Public Passions: the Trial of Shi Jianqiao and the Rise of Popular Sympathy in Republican China, which was awarded the 2007 John K. Fairbank prize by the American Historical Association. Professor Lean is currently researching the practices and writings of polymath Chen Diexian, a professional writer/editor, science enthusiast, and pharmaceutical industrialist. This work aims to explore the intersection among vernacular science, global commerce, and ways of authenticating knowledge and things in an era of mass communication. She received the 2013-2014 Faculty Mentoring Award for faculty in Columbia’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. 

Eugenia Lean co-leads the Global Histories of Science Research Cluster and serves as an Executive Committee member.