Dr Leah Wang
- Position: Associate Professor in Intercultural Studies and Film
- Areas of expertise: Film and TV; Cultural Philosophy; Values; Chinese and Korean Film/TV; East Asian Screen Media; Youth, Childhood, Education and Family; Social Hierarchy; Popular Culture; Intercultural Studies
- Email: L.Y.Wang@leeds.ac.uk
- Location: Michael Sadler Building
- Website: ORCID
Profile
My work centres on cultural philosophy and values on screen in contemporary film and television, particularly in Chinese and Korean contexts. It considers how these are constructed and negotiated in popular screen media within broader social and cultural contexts. I also work more broadly on East Asian screen media and its relationship with popular culture.
My professional experience spans the United Kingdom and Switzerland. I joined the University of Leeds in 2020 after teaching at the University of Exeter (2014-2020), and previously at the University of Nottingham (2015-2016). I received my PhD in Film and Television Studies and am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I also contribute to the discipline nationally as Treasurer and Executive Committee Member of the British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies.
Before entering academia, I worked between 2010 and 2014 in the creative and financial sectors in the UK and gained international professional experience in Switzerland, including experience at the United Nations and projects related to the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, after my education at the University of Manchester.
Responsibilities
- Treasurer and Executive Committee member, British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies
- School FYP Coordinator (2021–2024) and EDI Lead (2023–2024)
- PhD Supervisor
Research interests
My research focuses on cultural philosophy and values on screen in contemporary film and television, particularly in Chinese and Korean contexts. It considers how these are constructed and negotiated in popular screen media within broader social and cultural contexts.
I am also interested in how contemporary popular film and television across different cultural contexts relate to popular culture, with a focus on Chinese and East Asian screen media, including questions of youth and femininity.
I am particularly interested in:
- Cultural philosophy and values in popular screen media
- Chinese and Korean film and television
- East Asian film and television across cultures
- Youth and family relationships on screen
- Education and social class in film and television
Selected Publications and Conference Papers
Wang, Leah (2026), ‘Representing education in China in the early reform era: The impact of university matriculation on the family and the individual in Father and Son (1986)’, Asian Cinema, 37:1, pp. 97-119.
Chen and Wang. (2026). ‘Strategies for enhancing the international creative capacity of original Chinese picture books: Lessons from award-winning overseas Chinese picture books’. Journal of News Research, 17(6).
Wang, Leah ‘The Qipao in In the Mood for Love (2000) across intercultural contexts, CTIS Research Talk Series, 2026.
Wang, Leah ‘Animating Change and Intercultural Shifts: A Critical Analysis of Chinese Educational Transformations in the 2000s through the Comic Lens of Oh My School (2023)’, Animating Change, 2024.
Wang, Leah ‘Dilraba Dilmurat, the Popular Chinese Celebrity of Uyghur Descent’, Alternative Narratives of Belonging, Resistance and Rebellion: Portrayals of Indigenous Muslim Minorities, 2024 (co-organiser).
Wang, Leah ‘Youth in 1990s Rural China: Educational Experiences in Going to School with Father on My Back (1998)’, Screening Spaces of Youth, 2024.
Qualifications
- PhD
- FHEA
- MA
- BA
Student education
My teaching contributes to undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in film, television, intercultural studies and research methods. It draws on my work on Chinese and Asian film and television, with a focus on cultural and intercultural values, representation and screen performance. Between 2021 and 2025, I led the School undergraduate final-year project programme and led/taught on East Asian transnational cinema.
PhD Supervision
I supervise PhD and MRes projects on related topics and welcome enquiries from PhD applicants interested in the following and related areas:
- Cultural philosophy and values in popular screen media
- Chinese and Korean film and television
- East Asian film and television across cultures
- Youth and family relationships on screen
- Education and social hierarchy in film and television
I have supervised and am currently supervising PhD students as both Lead Supervisor and Co-Supervisor. Areas of supervision include Chinese and Hong Kong cinema; film and television across Chinese, Korean, and Japanese contexts; popular and independent cinema; media ethnography; social media; and questions of representation, identity, and cultural philosophy in screen media.
PG and UG Supervision
Apart from PhD supervision, I also supervise Master's dissertations and undergraduate research projects across a broad range of topics in film, television, media, and intercultural studies. Recent and current projects have explored Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Iranian, Black, and American popular and art cinema; television and screen media; social media; media representation and identity; cultural philosophy; media ethnography; and intercultural studies.
Research groups and institutes
- Cinema and Television
- Centre for World Cinemas and Digital Cultures
- Intercultural Studies