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Xinghua Li

  • Associate Professor
Academic Division: History & Society
CV
781-239-4258
Xinghua Li is Associate Professor of Media Studies in the History & Society Division. At Babson College, she teaches courses on critical media theory, consumer culture, and environmental sustainability. Her research explores the global spread of consumer capitalism through the perspectives of ecocriticism, psychoanalysis, and critical media theory. Her book Environmental Advertising in China and the USA: The Desire to Go Green (Routledge 2016) uses advertising as a lens to analyze the rising phenomenon of green consumerism and compares how the Chinese and American consumer desires for green products are shaped by ideological, cultural, and historical differences.

Born and raised in Shanghai, China, Dr. Li received her Bachelor Degree in Advertising from Fudan University and finished her MA and PhD in Communication Studies at the University of Iowa. Dr. Li's previous works use psychoanalysis and poststructural theories to explore the relationship between media, desire, and the environment. She has published in journals such as Media, Culture and Society, Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture, the anthology Reading Brokeback Mountain, and for three years she authored the "Looking Abroad" Column for The 21st Century, an English-language weekly in Beijing affiliated with the China Daily News Group.

Dr. Li is also working on several other projects. One studies the Chinese tradition of consuming wildlife products such as ivory, rhino horns, and tiger bones and the NGO campaigns intending to stop it. Another examines the psycho-mechanism of eco-jokes in popular culture and explores the potential to increase environmental participation through comedy and humor. Another employs Freud's notion of the death drive to understand the relations between deadlines and systematized procrastination in modern capitalistic societies. Finally, one studies the digitization of the Chinese language through the computer keyboard and its impacts on literacy and the calligraphic tradition in China.

Dr. Li served as Chair of the Environmental Communication Division at the International Communication Association from 2018 to 2020, and is the Founding Member of the International Environmental Communication Association.

Academic Degrees

  • Ph D, The University of Iowa
  • MA, The University of Iowa
  • BA, Fudan University

Academic Interest / Expertise

Global/Comparative Media; Critical Cultural Theory; Advertising and Consumer Culture; Environmental Communication; Ecocriticism; Sustainability and Environmental Issues

Awards & Honors

  • 2024 — Research Reimbursement Award ($2000), Babson Faculty Research Fund
  • 2021 — Stephen P. Depoe Book Chapter Award in Environmental Communication, National Communication Association (NCA)
  • 2019 — Mini Grant ($2500), Babson Faculty Research Fund
  • 2016 — Course Release & Travel Fund ($3300), Babson Faculty Research Fund
  • 2014 — Course Release, Babson Faculty Research Fund
  • 2013 — Summer Stipend ($10000) & Travel Fund ($3000), Babson Faculty Research Fund
  • 2011 — Summer Stipend ($10000) & Glavin Center Travel Award ($5500), Babson Faculty Research Fund
  • 2009 — Top Student Paper Award ($300), International Communication Association, Philosophy of Communication Division

Courses

  • Degree Courses 2025

    • CSP 2020 MEDIA STUDIES
    • MDS 4620 MEDIATING THE WILD

  • Degree Courses 2024

    • CSP 2013 INTRODUCTION TO SUSTAINABILITY
    • CSP 2020 MEDIA STUDIES
    • FCI 1000 FOUNDATIONS OF CRITICAL INQUIRY
    • MDS 4620 MEDIATING THE WILD

Publications

Journal Articles

  • Li, X. (2023). The “Useless” Sustainability: Chinese and American Discourses of Eco-Fashion and the Utilitarian Fantasy. Recherches en Communication . Vol: 55, Page: 121-156. The Université catholique de Louvain. link
  • Aronczyk, M., Gangaharbatla, H., Li, X., Timke, E., Zwarun, L. (2022). ASQ: Roundtable on Advertising and the Environment. Advertising & Society Quarterly. Vol: 23, Issue: 4. Duke University. link
  • Aronczyk, M., Li, X., Luo, R., McGuigan, L., Timke, E. (2022). Author Meets Critics: A Strategic Nature: Public Relations and the Politics of American Environmentalism. Advertising & Society Quarterly. Vol: 23, Issue: 3, Page: n/a. Duke University. link
  • Li, X. (2019). Understanding Nao: A Chinese "Image Event". Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies. Vol: 16, Issue: 4, Page: 370-381. link
  • Li, X. (2013). A Comparative Analysis of Hybrid Car Advertisements in the USA and China: Desire, Globalization, and Environment. Environmental Communication. Vol: 7, Issue: 4, Page: 512-528. Routledge. link
  • Li, X. (2011). Whispering: The Murmur of Power in a Lo-Fi World. Media, Culture & Society. Vol: 33, Issue: 1, Page: 19-34. Sage. link

Books

  • Li, X. (2016). Environmental Advertising in China and the USA: The Desire to Go Green: Environmental Advertising in China and the USA: The Desire to Go Green. Page: 172. Routledge. link

Book Chapters

  • Li, X. (2020). Selling the "Wild" in China: Ancient Values, Wilderness Histories, and the Quyeba Advertising Campaign: Green Communication and China: On Crisis, Care, and Global Futures. Michigan State University Press. link
  • Li, X. (2007). From the "Love of Nature" to Natural Love: Brokeback Mountain, Universal Identification, and Gay Politics": Reading Brokeback Mountain: Essays on the Story and the Film. Page: p.106-117. McFarland & Company. link

Working Papers

  • Li, X. (2012). The “Organi-vore’s” Dilemma: A Comparative Analysis of Organic Food Advertising in China and the U.S. (Paper 125): Babson Faculty Research Fund Working Papers. Digital Knowledge at Babson. link

Conference Proceedings

  • Li, X. (2013). Eco-Jokes and Their Relation to the UnCO2nscious: Larry David’s "Curb Global Warming" Campaign and Other Environmental Comedies: Communication for the Commons: Proceedings for the 2013 Conference on Communication and the Environment (COCE). International Environmental Communication Association.

Other

  • Li, X., Knight, C.N., Thomas, K.D. (2025). "Global and International Introduction: Chinese Beauty Influencers and Authenticity," . Vol: 25, Issue: 4. Advertising & Society Quarterly, Winter 2025.
  • Li, X. (2015). Becoming Critical Participants of Media Culture. Babson College. link

Presentations

  • Utilitarianism in AI-Driven Solutions for Sustainability Development Li, X. Green AI Summit , Harvard University (2024)
  • Integrating Sustainability and Environmental Concerns into Advertising Agenda Li, X. Advertising & Society Quarterly (ASQ) Annual Colloquium, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Washington D. C. (2024)
  • How to Camp Like A Daoist: Wilderness Excursions in Ancient China and the Lessons We Learn From Them Li, X. Babson Research Day, Babson College (2024)
  • The ‘Useless’ Sustainability: Chinese and American Discourses of Eco-Fashion and the Utilitarian Fantasy Li, X. BFRF Research Discussion, Babson College (2023)
  • Climbing Mount Baker: An Ethnographic Study of American Mountaineering Culture Li, X. "Walking in Nature," course by Professor Alina Halliliuc, Denison University, online (2022)
  • Selling the "Wild" in China: Ancient Values, Consumer Desires, and The North Face’s "Go Be Wild" Campaign Li, X. Babson Faculty Research Fund Research Discussions, Wellesley, MA (2021)
  • Adventure Tourism as Eco-Nationalism: Consuming the Wild in the South China Sea Li, X. 16th Biannual Conference on Communication and the Environment (COCE), Online (2021)
  • The Drone: Sounding the Sonic Sublime Li, X. 71st International Communication Association Annual Conference, Online (2021)
  • “Why should we look at Green Communication and China?" Li, X. 106th National Communication Association (NCA) Annual Convention, Online (2020)
  • Representing Wilderness Excursions in China: Past and Present Li, X. Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), "Rewilding Soeul" course instructed by Jungyoon Kim and Yoon-Jin Park, Cambridge, MA (2020)
  • Imagining China’s Great Outdoors: Changing Relationships between Body and Environment Li, X. 15th Biannual Conference on Communication and the Environment (COCE), Vancouver, Canada (2019)
  • "Moving Heaven and Earth": Anti-Nature Icons and Images in Maoist Propaganda Posters Li, X. 17th Cultural Studies Association (CSA) Annual Convention , New Orleans, LA (2019)
  • China’s Wilderness Excursions: Consuming the Great Outdoors Li, X. "Communication, Media, and Governance in the Age of Globalization" NCA-CUC Conference, Beijing, China (2018)
  • Populism against Nature: Propaganda Posters and the General Assault on the Environment in Maoist China, 1949-1978 Li, X. 68th International Communication Association Annual Conference, Budapest, Hungry (2018)
  • Digital (Im-)Mortality: Black Mirror, Consciousness Downloading, and Modern Technology’s Assault on the Body Li, X. Modernisms and Modernities East, West and South: Comparing Literary and Cultural Experiences , Shanghai, China (2017)
  • Wildness and the Chinese Mind: From Ye and Dao to the Consumption of Wildlife Products Li, X. 67th International Communication Association Annual Conference, San Diego, CA, USA (2017)
  • Green Advertising and Greenwashing Li, X. Fudan University Intensive Summer Graduate Seminar, Shanghai, China (2016)
  • Technology as Narcissism: How Media Environments Alienate Us from 'Natural Environments' Li, X. 66th International Communication Association Annual Conference, Fukuoka, Japan (2016)
  • Big Data as Big Brother? How Customer Tracking Affects Privacy, Democracy, and Cultural Integrity Li, X. Babson Insight Webinar (Blended Learning), Wellesley, MA (2016)
  • 'Putting A Price on Carbon': Media Advocacy Campaign to Educate Massachusetts Residents about A Carbon Tax Li, X. 13th Biannual Conference on Communication and the Environment (COCE), Boulder, CO (2015)
  • Bridging the Four 'Divides' in Environmental Communication Li, X. A Panel Discussion on Environmental Tax Reform in Massachusetts, Medfield, MA (2014)
  • ‘Wild Flavors’ or Wild Animals? Symbolic Warfare Surrounding China’s Endangered Wildlife Trade Li, X. 64th International Communication Association Annual Conference, Seattle, WA (2014)
  • 'Wild Flavors' or Wild Animals? Symbolic Warfare Surrounding China’s Endangered Wildlife Trade Li, X. Babson Faculty Research Fund Research Chats, Wellesley, MA (2014)
  • Role of Media in Community-Based Social Marketing: A Pedagogical Case Study of the ‘Building Sustainability @ Babson College’ Li, X. 6th Annual Conference of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in High Education, Nashville, TN (2013)
  • Eco-Jokes and Their Relation to the UnCO2nscious: Larry David’s 'Curb Global Warming' Campaign and Other Environmental Comedies Li, X. 12th Biannual Conference on Communication and the Environment (COCE), Uppsala, Sweden (2013)
  • The 'Useless' Sustainability: Ma Ke's Eco-Fashion Project and China's Cultural Memory in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction Li, X. 9th Biannual Crossroads in Cultural Studies Conference, Paris, France (2012)
  • Detoxing the Oasis: Green Housing Advertisements in China and the Consumption of the Private Space Li, X. 62th International Communication Association Annual Conference - Pre-conference on Communication and the Ethics of Consumption, Phoenix, AZ (2012)
  • A Comparative Analysis of Organic Food Advertising in the US and China Li, X. Babson Faculty Research Fund Research Chats, Wellesley, MA (2012)
  • The ‘Organi-vore’s’ Dilemma: A Comparative Analysis of Organic Food Advertising in the U.S. and China Li, X. Food Studies: An Interdisciplinary Conference, Las Vegas, NV (2011)
  • 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Eco-Star': Green Celebrity Culture in Contemporary China Li, X. ECREA Visualizing Science and Environmentalism Symposium , University of Brighton, Brighton, UK (2011)
  • The In(frared)visible Hand: Kinect, Interactive Pornography, and the Quest for Touch at a Distance Li, X. Media In Transition 7 Conference , Cambridge, MA (2011)
  • A History of (Anti-)Environmental Propaganda in the People’s Republic of China from 1949 to Present Li, X. 96th National Communication Association Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA (2010)
  • 'Enjoy Your Waste!': Psychoanalysis, Ecology, and the Real of Environmental Communication Li, X. 95th National Communication Association Annual Convention, Chicago, IL (2009)
  • Whispering: The Murmur of Power in the Lo-fi World Li, X. 59th International Communication Association Annual Convention , Chicago, IL (2009)
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Professional Services

  • Editorial Review Board Member University of California Press, Environmental Communication, Power, and Culture book series (2018 - Present)
  • Editorial Review Board Member Advertising & Society Quarterly (2023 - 2026)
  • Editorial Review Board Member Environmental Communication (2023 - 2026)
  • Reviewer, Journal Article Environmental Communication (2023 - 2024)
  • Reviewer, Journal Article International Journal of Communication (2023 - 2023)
  • Reviewer, Journal Article Information, Communication & Society (2022 - 2022)
  • Reviewer, Conference Paper Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) (2012 - 2022)
  • Reviewer, Journal Article Environmental Communication (2020 - 2021)
  • Board Member International Communication Association (2018 - 2020)
  • Chairperson International Communication Association, Environmental Communication Division (2018 - 2020)
  • Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer Routledge / Taylor & Francis Group (2020 - 2020)
  • Reviewer, Conference Paper Biannual Conference on Communication and Environment (2018 - 2018)
  • Program Organizer International Communication Association, Environmental Communication Division (2016 - 2018)
  • Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer Global Media and China (journal) (2017 - 2017)
  • Officer, Secretary International Communication Association, Environmental Communication Division (2015 - 2016)
  • Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture (2013 - 2015)
  • Reviewer, Ad Hoc Reviewer Journal of Advertising (2012 - 2012)
  • Reviewer, Conference Paper Biannual Conference on Communication and Environment (2011 - 2011)
  • Reviewer, Conference Paper Annual Convention for the National Communication Association (2009 - 2010)

Professional Memberships

  • International Environmental Communication Association (2012 - Present)
  • International Communication Association (2008 - Present)