Linzhi Zhang

Teaching Associate

BA (Tsinghua University), MA (Heidelberg University), PhD (University of Cambridge)

Working at the intersection of cultural and economic sociology, my research adopts a cultural approach to labour studies with a focus on creativity and work in contemporary China. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods, my work provides a comprehensive analysis of how norms, institutions, social networks and global capitalism shape cultural production and labour practices in China.

Linzhi Zhang.

My details

Contact details

l.zhang@jbs.cam.ac.uk

lz337@cam.ac.uk

@DrLinzhi

Academic area

Organisational Theory and Information Systems

Professional experience

Dr Linzhi Zhang is Convenor of the Sociology of Arts Study Group, British Sociological Association, and a Special Issue Co-editor for Cultural Sociology.

Previous appointments

In addition to her role at Cambridge Judge Business School, Linzhi is an Affiliated Lecturer at the Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge. Previous appointments have included Research officer (part-time) at the Birmingham School of Architecture and Design, and a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Courtauld Institute of Art. She has also been a Visiting Fellow at the Australian Centre on China in the World, Australian National University.

Publications

Selected publications

  • Zhang, L. (2025) Making contemporary art in China: creations and careers through exhibitions: British Academy Monograph Series. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. (forthcoming)
  • Zhang, L. (2025) “Chinese women artists’ Marxist feminist critique of postsocialist work.” China Information, 39(1): 53-74 (DOI: 10.1177/0920203X241305595)
  • Zhang, L. (2025) “The artist without work: a critique of the capitalist work ethic.” In: Child, D. (ed.) Routledge companion to art and capitalism. London: Routledge (forthcoming)
  • Zhang, L. (2022) “Scenography and the production of artworks in contemporary art.” Cultural Sociology, 17(2): 179–203 (DOI: 10.1177/17499755221076922) (Winner of the SAGE Prize for Innovation/Excellence 2024)
  • Zhang, L. (2020) “The diffusion of galleries in China: 1991-2016.” In: Glauser, A., Holder, P., Mazzurana, T., Moeschler, O. and Rolle, V. (eds.) The sociology of arts and markets: new developments and persistent patterns. London: Palgrave Macmillan. (DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-39013-6_12)
  • Zhang, L.*, Qu, Y., Cao, X. and Guo, K. (2013) “Rural migrants as marginalised citizens: a report on dealers in fake invoices near Xizhimen metro station [in Chinese].” In: Li, Q. and Wang, H. (eds.) Urban sociology: Beijing city social life survey. Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press, pp.378-388.

Journal articles

Books, monographs, reports and case studies

  • Zhang, L. (2025) Making contemporary art in China: creations and careers through exhibitions: British Academy Monograph Series. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. (forthcoming)

Book chapters

  • Zhang, L. (2025) “The artist without work: a critique of the capitalist work ethic.” In: Child, D. (ed.) Routledge companion to art and capitalism. London: Routledge (forthcoming)
  • Zhang, L. (2020) “The diffusion of galleries in China: 1991-2016.” In: Glauser, A., Holder, P., Mazzurana, T., Moeschler, O. and Rolle, V. (eds.) The sociology of arts and markets: new developments and persistent patterns. London: Palgrave Macmillan. (DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-39013-6_12)
  • Zhang, L.*, Qu, Y., Cao, X. and Guo, K. (2013) “Rural migrants as marginalised citizens: a report on dealers in fake invoices near Xizhimen metro station [in Chinese].” In: Li, Q. and Wang, H. (eds.) Urban sociology: Beijing city social life survey. Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press, pp.378-388.

Awards and honours

  • SAGE Prize for Excellence and Innovation, Cultural Sociology, 2024

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