Dr Haili Li

Haili Li is a Senior Lecturer in Media and Communications at the Department of Communications, Drama and Film, University of Exeter. She joined Exeter in July 2023 as a Lecturer in Media and Communications. Before joining Exeter, she worked as a postdoctoral research fellow for the ERC Starting Grant project Digital Governance in China at Freie Universität Berlin (Dec 2021 - May 2023). Haili obtained her PhD degree in Digital Media and Communication from the Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology in September 2021 (2018-2021). Her research has primarily focused on digital media and cultures, AI and digital technologies, public engagement, digital inequalities, migration, and the intersections between race, gender, and sexuality. Haili has been endorsed as a global talent by the British Academy starting from June 2023. 

Contact information:

Email: h.li5@exeter.ac.uk

Office Address: White House, Thornlea, Exeter, EX4 4LA, UK

Research supervision:

Haili Li welcomes research proposals/projects from a diverse array of domains, encompassing but not limited to digital media and cultures, digital/AI technologies and public engagement, digital/AI inequalities and inclusion, digital diasporas, as well as race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality studies.

PhD supervision:

Ziyi Song, Perception, Negotiation and Representation: Cultural Identities of Young British Chinese on Social Media, University of Exeter

Jing Lei, Reshaping Gender Dynamics in Chinese Pop Culture Fandoms, University of Exeter

Qiaosong Xi, Rebellious Daughters: Everyday feminist activism on Chinese social media, University of Exeter

Ao Xiang, Gender Performance and Identity Negotiation among Chinese LGBTQ+ Beauty Vloggers: A Comparative Study of TikTok and Douyin

Qianqian Li, An exploration of the digital menstrual activism in the Chinese public sphere: a relay of digital menstrual activisms on Weibo, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu

Visiting Scholar:

Served as the Academic Sponsor for the HASS visiting scholar Dr Qingqing Li (Associate Professor), 2024-25, CSC Scholarship

Serve as the Academic Sponsor for the HASS visiting scholar Dr Zhou Chang (Lecturer), 2026-27, CSC Scholarship

Visiting PGR postgraduate research students:

Serve as supervisor for Boyang Yu (Fudan University, China), Exploring the Role of Social Media and Video Platforms in Constructing National Image: A Multimodal Analysis, Sep 2026- Sep 2027, CSC Scholarship

Management and leadership:

Jan 2026-July 2026, Director of Education (DoE), Media and Communications

Sep 2023 - Dec 2025, Academic Conduct Officer (ACO), Department of Communications, Drama and Film

I am on Research Leave from July 2026 to January 2027, so it may take me a bit longer to respond to emails. Thanks for your patience.