Ariel Yingqi Tang

Bio

Ariel Yingqi Tang's research is broadly concerned with the interactions between culture and nature in the history of political thought and contemporary political theory. Her ongoing projects investigate the realization of nature by means of culture via education, the limits of culture’s claim over nature, as well as the dichotomy between the two categories.

Ariel’s dissertation-based book manuscript, “Bildung and the Anthropological Foundation of Politics”, reconstructs the entangled history of the Enlightenment and the idea of Bildung, the foundational principle of the modern research university. Tracing the genealogies of key notions underlying modern educational institutions, including aesthetic education, academic freedom, and the global curriculum in the European context and beyond, the book seeks to resuscitate the humanistic strand of Enlightenment political thought and prompts us to reconsider the promise of liberal education in modern academies.

Besides research, Ariel is committed to translation both as a scholarly activity and a vehicle for self-understanding. Her book-length translation has appeared with the Commercial Press in Shanghai. She also maintains research and teaching interests in the history of knowledge, philosophy and literature, and environmental humanities.

Ariel’s research has been supported by the Max Kade Foundation, the Yale Macmillan Center, the Karl Jaspers Center at the University of Heidelberg, and the Polonsky Academy for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences. She completed her doctoral training at Yale University and holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science from Barnard College, Columbia University.

Professional Education

• Doctor of Philosophy, Yale University (2024)
• Master of Philosophy, Yale University (2020)
• Master of Arts, Yale University (2018)
• Bachelor of Arts, Barnard College Columbia University (2016)

Stanford Advisors

• Josiah Ober, Postdoctoral Faculty Sponsor