Seeking the “us” in our othernesses: Decolonizing the understanding of Chinese-ness(es) through lenses of transnationalism and thick(er) intersectionalities

Zhang’s (张韬) research interests include intercultural communication, critical communication pedagogy, and autoethnography, etc. She is particularly interested in exploring how culture, power, identity, and history intersect to impact our lived experiences communicatively (through language/speech/rhetoric, narratives, beliefs, storied memories, and other symbolic resources). She teaches Public Speaking, Intercultural Communication, and The Art of Interpretation - Written Texts at Duke Kunshan University.

She is the author of multiple peer-reviewed articles, including recent publications: "Seeking the 'us' in Our Othernessnes: Decolonizing the Understanding of Chinese-ness(es) Through Lenses of Transnationalism and Thick(er) Intersectionalities“ (Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 2026), "A Silent Farewell: A dialogue That Had Never Been Made" (Journal of Autoethnography, under a pseudonym, 2026), "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/