The Provost’s Office is excited to extend a warm welcome to Ying Diao, joining the Music department in Fall 2025!
What excites you most about joining Gustavus Adolphus College?
What excites me most about joining Gustavus is the opportunity to teach small undergraduate classes, where I can connect closely with students, and to immerse myself fully in (Western classical) music again!
Briefly describe your professional interests.
I am an ethnomusicologist and cultural anthropologist, and the author of Faith by Aurality in China’s Ethnic Borderland (2023). My research examines how identities take shape through sound, focusing on Christianity, modernity, and ethnicity in the China–Southeast Asia borderlands. I also engage with the anthropology of China, mobility, and artistic diaspora.
What aspects of teaching do you find most rewarding?
The most rewarding aspect of teaching for me is knowing that the experiences and knowledge I share are helping them grow in meaningful ways.
If you could have any superpower (related to your field or otherwise), what would it be and why?
Currently on a meaningful layover in Minnesota. If I could have a superpower, it would be the ability to travel anywhere in the world, especially China and Germany, in just five minutes, then return to my Minnesota home. Because why choose between adventure and comfort when you can have both?