Faculty Spotlight: Amy Liu

Her research and teaching focus on the intersection of ethnic politics, language politics, and migration politics. Amy’s first book Standardizing Diversity: The Political Economy of Language Regimes (University of Pennsylvania Press 2015) examines how the recognition of lingua francas can be conducive for economic growth – in Asia generally and in Southeast Asia specifically. The second book The Language of Political Incorporation: Chinese Migrants in Europe (Temple University Press 2021) looks at the linguistic networks of Chinese migrants and the implications for engagement with local authorities in Europe. She is also the coauthor of a Cambridge Elements monograph Ethnicity and Politics in Southeast Asia. Amy is currently working on a new book project examining the diversity and representation of government cabinets in Asia. At UT, Amy regularly teaches Language, Politics, and Culture (an UGS class), Southeast Asian Politics, East European Politics, and ethnic politics – whether in Taiwan (cross-listed with ANS), globally,  (cross-listed with LAH), or in the US in a comparative perspective (graduate level). When not doing research, teaching, or managing the lab, Amy enjoys learning languages, traveling the world, and contributing to the local economy by eating her weight in dough-wrapped meat fillings.