Email: chenqiz2@illinois.edu
Research Interests
Chenqi’s research interests lie in the intersection of media and communication study, history of science and STS. Generally, she’s drawn to how communicative, scientific and technological practices condition and transform each other across historical trajectories, and to their constitutive role in structuring human nature and broader social formations. At a more specific and current focus, she examines how the computational and automated transformation of media semiotics both contributes to and is reconfigured by artificial intelligence, tracing its continuities and ruptures with historical foundations, as well as the challenges it poses for communicative practices where various human activities and selfhood may be redefined.
Prior to joining ICR, Chenqi earned her bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Communication from Shanghai International Studies University and was a visiting student at the University of California, Berkeley.
Recent Publications/Presentations
Chenqi Zhu, Re-Embodying the Interface: A Historical Inquiry into Human-Computer Interaction, 2025 History of Science Society Annual Meeting, HSS, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, November 13-16, 2025.
Chenqi Zhu, AI-generated Images Present Reduction of Internal Cultural Diversity through Contracted Semiotic Selection, 2025 International Communication Association Regional Conference, ICA, Hefei, China, October 19-22, 2025.
Chenqi Zhu, Illusory Freedom As A Veil Of Deep Passivity: The “Biological Turn” In Viewing Experience From Television To Online Short Dramas, 10th International Conference on Communication & Media Studies, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France, Sep 11-12, 2025.
Chenqi Zhu, Transparency and reverence: research on relation between polytype scientific knowledge and public perception of climate change, Public Communication of Science and Technology Symposium 2024:Communicating Science across Cultures, PCST, Suzhou, China. October 17-19, 2024.
Courses Taught
- MACS 100: Intro to Popular TV & Movies
Academic Roles
- Teaching Assistant (TA) for MACS 100