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Tao Zhang

Assistant Professor of Intercultural Communication and Language at Duke Kunshan University
DKU Faculty
Office hours W, 9am-11am & Joyfully by Appointment (Spring 2025)  

Overview


Zhang’s (张韬) research interests include intercultural communication, identity studies, transnationalism, and autoethnography. She is particularly interested in exploring how culture, power, and history intersect to impact identity experiences. She teaches Public Speaking, Intercultural Communication, and The Art of Interpretation - Texts (Fall 2025) at Duke Kunshan University.

She is the author of multiple peer-reviewed articles, including two recent publications: “Undoing the ‘Non’s within English Hegemony: Teaching Intercultural Communication as a Transnational Teacher” (Communication Education, 2021) and “Your English Is ‘Accented!’: Surviving with Otherness While Approaching Positive Becoming” (International Review of Qualitative Research, 2021). She is also a regular member of the National Communication Association (NCA) and the Central States Communication Association (CSCA).

Zhang received her B.A. in English from Hainan University, her 1st M.A. in Communications from Yunnan University, 2nd M.A. in Comparative Humanities from Brandeis University, and her Ph.D. in Communication Studies from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (R1), where she also served as an instructor of record from 2016 to 2021. Before joining Duke Kunshan in the Fall of 2023, she taught at Utah State University and Gonzaga University in the U.S.

For more detailed info, please refer to her LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tao-zhang-27b9a7201/

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Assistant Professor of Intercultural Communication and Language at Duke Kunshan University · 2023 - Present DKU Faculty

Recent Publications


“Your English is Accented!”: Surviving With Otherness While Approaching Positive Becoming

Journal Article International Review of Qualitative Research · February 2021 Taking a critical intercultural approach, this paper explores the discrepancies between the critical communication pedagogy (CCP) ideals and pedagogical struggles of international graduate teaching assistants (IGTAs) rendered by their linguistic d ... Full text Open Access Cite

Activist speak at the Republican debates

Chapter · May 20, 2019 Scholars of communication, political science, sociology, and media studies will find this collection useful. ... Cite
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Education, Training & Certifications


Southern Illinois University · 2021 Ph.D.