I am a cultural sociologist studying how people pursue and make sense of social mobility. My work centers on meritocracy, the sociology of valuation and evaluation, higher education, and gender and merit. I specialize in qualitative methods.
My dissertation examines a cultural schema of exceptional competence central to understanding both the promise and the pitfalls of higher education in China. It analyzes how, at China's hyper-elite universities, gender and class inequalities shape students' divergent relationships to merit and the meanings they attach to upward mobility. Learn about my book project The Trap of Exceptionalism.
I hold a PhD in Sociology from Harvard University. For AY 2026-27, I serve as a Course Development Research Assistant for Gen Ed 1211: Peace in Practice at Harvard College.
CONTACT
Email: jingyundai@g.harvard.edu