Biography

Dr. Chen is an Assistant Professor at Xiamen University Malaysia. His research focuses on emerging discourses in digital media, with particular attention to how they introduce new ways of making sense of ourselves, others, and the world. He is also interested in how digital discourses circulate and transform across transnational and intercultural contexts.

His work has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals in communication and media studies, such as Social Media + Society and Journal of Health Communication, and presented at major academic conferences including the International Communication Association (ICA) and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). He has also contributed chapters to two Routledge Companion volumes on digital media.

In a recent study, Dr. Chen employed a computationally assisted critical thematic analysis of 1,915 body-positivity posts on RedNote (小红书), identifying a new iteration of postfeminism and demonstrating how such discourse simultaneously enables new forms of empowerment while reinforcing subtle modes of discipline.

Prior to joining Xiamen University Malaysia, he spent four and a half years studying and working at the University of Iowa in the United States, where he served as instructor of record and earned his PhD. Outside academia, he enjoys music, photography, and writing, and has recently developed a strong interest in Malaysian music.

Research Interest

Online Discourse, Digital Platform, Global Communication, Health Communication, Computational Methods