Lena Scheen is an Assistant Professor of Global China Studies 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

Education

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