Dr Jiaqi Zhang

Profile

I am a Teaching Fellow in the School of Law, where I completed my PhD in Law in 2026.

I graduated with my LLB from Southwest University of Political Science and Law (SWUPL) in 2016, and completed an LLM in Advanced Legal Studies at the University of Warwick in 2017. I am also a qualified lawyer in the People's Republic of China.

I have taught in the School of Law since 2023 and hold Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA).

Responsibilities

• Academic Personal Tutor

Research interests

My research is in critical legal theory, with a particular focus on the place of law and emotion.

My doctoral thesis, Reason-emotion in Legal Practices, drew on Karen Barad's framework of agential realism to question the classical opposition between reason and emotion in law. Rather than treating them as separate faculties, I developed 'reason-emotion' as a way of understanding legal judgment as something that cannot be cleanly divided into rational and affective parts. The work brings together legal theory, criminal law, and the philosophy of emotion.

My recent publication, 'A Compassion-based Restorative Approach in Healthcare GNM Involving Systemic Failure', appears in Medical Law International.

Qualifications

• PhD in Law, University of Leeds
• LLM in Advanced Legal Studies, University of Warwick
• LLB, Southwest University of Political Science and Law
• Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA)
• Lawyer's Licence, People's Republic of China

Professional memberships

• Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA)
• British Academy Early Career Researcher Network

Student education

As a Teaching Fellow, I teach across a range of undergraduate modules, in criminal law, contract law, legal theory, and law and society. I also act as an academic personal tutor and supervise undergraduate dissertations. I welcome enquiries from students interested in projects in critical legal theory, substantive criminal law, and interdisciplinary approaches to law.

You can book a slot in my academic support hours using this link.