Graduate Student Yun Feng Researches E-Commerce's Impact on Rural China

Yun Feng, a graduate student in the Department of Anthropology, uses her research to better understand the impact of e-commerce in rural villages in China. She cites the campus organizations, mentorship, and hands-on experience available through her degree path as essential to the development of her studies; and pushes us to critically think about the role of money in structuring the world around us.

What do you study and how did you become interested in it?

I study anthropology, and my interest in the field began in senior high school when I read Fei Xiaotong’s Peasant Life in China (江村经济). His vivid portrayal of rural life and farmers’ worldviews in a Chinese village deeply moved me and sparked my curiosity about how people live, think, and relate to their social worlds. Today, I specialize in studying e-commerce villages [, where local economies are based primarily on online retail,] in rural China.

To those outside my field, I often describe my work as an exploration of how digital technologies—like online shopping platforms and algorithms—are reshaping rural life: from livelihoods and family structures to gender roles. I’m especially interested in how villagers interact with the hidden logic of recommendation algorithms and how these human-algorithm encounters shape new forms of labor and imagination in the countryside.

What brought you to the University of Minnesota?

One of the main reasons I chose the University of Minnesota for my doctoral studies was Professor Karen Ho. I had read her book Liquidated as an undergraduate and was deeply inspired by her ethnographic approach and critical analysis of finance capitalism. I knew I wanted to pursue my PhD under her guidance, and that decision has truly proven to be the right one—my project has developed smoothly with her unwavering support and mentorship.

Among the programs I considered, UMN stood out not only because of Professor Ho, but also because of the Department of Anthropology’s strong emphasis on critical theory, ethnographic depth, and global perspective. The College of Liberal Arts fosters a collaborative and intellectually vibrant environment, and the University’s interdisciplinary resources have offered me the ideal academic home to grow both as a scholar and a teacher.

What are some ways in which you have been welcomed and supported as a member of the University community?

As an international student and a first-generation scholar, I’ve felt genuinely welcomed and supported by the University of Minnesota community. From the start, my department has provided a safe, intellectually open, and empathetic space to grow. Faculty members are approachable and deeply committed to mentoring, and graduate student colleagues foster a culture of mutual care rather than competition. What has made a real difference for me are the everyday practices: regular check-ins from advisors, inclusive classroom discussions, and spaces for collective reflection on academic and personal challenges.

The Department of Anthropology shares values I hold dear—respect, reciprocity, and a commitment to justice. There is an active effort to address systemic inequities and diversify the discipline, whether through curriculum reform, public scholarship, or initiatives that amplify marginalized voices in anthropology. I’ve also seen concrete actions such as antiracist reading groups, support for community-based research, and funding for underrepresented students.

For students who share my background, I would recommend connecting with the University of Minnesota Graduate School Diversity Office, the Council of International Graduate Students (CIGS), and the Asian Pacific American Resource Center (APARC). These spaces have been invaluable in building community, finding mentorship, and accessing resources tailored to our specific experiences.

What problems does your work seek to address?

At the heart of my work is a desire to understand how digital technologies are transforming rural life in China—not just in terms of economic change, but in how people imagine their futures, relate to one another, and negotiate power. Right now, I’m especially interested in the tension between fatalism and hope among rural e-commerce entrepreneurs: how people both accept limitations and strive for transformation through their engagement with platforms and algorithms. My research looks at how algorithmic systems shape labor, livelihoods, and imagination, and how rural communities creatively respond to these technologies.

What energizes me most is the resilience, humor, and ingenuity I encounter in the field. I’m constantly inspired by how rural villagers navigate uncertainty with pragmatism and vision. I hope my work can help shed light on the lived realities behind platform economies—often overlooked in tech-centered discussions—and contribute to broader conversations about digital justice, labor rights, and rural agency. By foregrounding local voices and experiences, I aim to help scholars, policymakers, and designers rethink how technology can work with, rather than against, communities on the margins.

Tell us about a current project you've been working on:

A recent project I’ve been working on is my dissertation, which explores the rise of e-commerce in rural China and how villagers interact with platform algorithms in their everyday entrepreneurial practices. The project is based on 16 months of ethnographic fieldwork in an e-commerce village in Shandong Province. I lived in the village, worked alongside shop owners, attended live-streaming sessions, and conducted in-depth interviews with rural entrepreneurs, local officials, and platform trainers. I also analyzed online content, platform training materials, and algorithm-related discourse to trace how ideas about success and failure are shaped.

Through this work, I hope to show that rural people are not just passive recipients of technology but active participants in shaping its meaning and use. I want people to understand that behind each “explosive product” (爆款) is not just a data point, but a deeply human story of labor, aspiration, negotiation, and sometimes heartbreak. While this project aligns with my broader interests in digital capitalism and social transformation, it pushes me to think more critically about the power of algorithms and how they structure hope, risk, and inequality in subtle yet profound ways.

This story was edited by Rory Schaefer, an undergraduate student in CLA.