Lin Chen (Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, Fudan University; HYI Visiting Scholar, 2024-25)
“Contested Sociocultural Spaces of Aging in Rural China: From Older Adults’ Lived Experiences”
What got you interested in your research topic?
The main reason is quite obvious. As an only child born to parents in their late 30s, I witnessed firsthand how my parents and their siblings coordinated care for my grandparents between Beijing and Shanghai—a responsibility that took an emotional and logistical toll on the entire family. That was why I chose to study aging population and caregiving since my undergraduate thesis. As I have been working with older adults over the years, I’ve come to increasingly appreciate their rich lifetime of experiences and compelling repositories of wisdom. I am also intrigued by how different generations perceive and interact with their environment—a dynamic that reminds me that we are simultaneously older and younger than we’ve ever been at any given moment. As an avid reader and a movie goer, I am keen on understanding other people’s experiences and perceptions, fictional or nonfictional, which has helped cultivate my qualitative instincts and interview skills (to some extent).
Outside of work, where can we find you?
HFA (Harvard Film Archive!) It is probably my favorite place on campus and in Boston so far. This semester HFA has offered an exceptional program featured a series on “Melville et Cie.” I also attended a screening with acclaimed director Ryusuke Hamaguchi in person. As a regular at the Shanghai International Film Festival, I deeply appreciate the rarity and significance of preservation-focused screenings. What makes HFA particularly special is its access to private collections—I’ve had some rare opportunities to view several films that were exclusively loaned to HFA, which is so unique that might not be replicated elsewhere.
What would you want to do most as a career if you were not in academia?
Actually, I have fancied at least three career alternatives. First, following in the footsteps of my father and grandfather, I’ve considered becoming an ophthalmologist (could have some genetic advantage, I figure!). Second, a chef, my current retirement plan (too early?) is to enroll in Le Cordon Bleu and open a small bistro somewhere (need suggestions), so let’s see… Third, and perhaps most aligned with my detail-oriented nature, a book editor. The career alternative as a book editor is inspired and perhaps romanticized by Susan Ryeland, masterfully portrayed by Lesley Manville in Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders.
Taken together these three questions, I find myself have spent way too much time watching movies and TV series. 😅
Read Prof. Chen’s bio on our website!