Dr Sheng-hsun Lee

I am an applied linguist specialized in studying intercutlural communication and public health communication. I am deeply engaged in using multimodal discourse analysis to understand how language, gestures, eye gaze, and material objects co-create meaning in social life. I investigate the processes of language and cultural learning during studying abroad and in classroom settings.

My recent work focuses on communication during the COVID-19 pandemic and food-safety discourses. I have published in international journals on pandemic topics including wearing masks, reporting the first pandemic death, and narrating a pandemic. The COVID-19 project received the 2021 Humanities Traveling Fellowship from the Australian Academy of the Humanities. I am currently preparing a book titled Health Crisis Communication: Multimodal Classification for Pandemic Preparedness, which is under contract with Routledge. The monograph uncovers features of multimodal (mis)communication and provides practical advice and evidence-based recommendations for strengthening health crisis preparedness.

My new project explores the communication of food safety crises, such as the mushroom poisoning in Australia and the rice-noodle poisoning in Taiwan. I aim to use my research to help health professionals effectively communicate public health and update health communication guidelines.

I am available to supervise PhD/MPhil/Honours projects on the following topics: health discourses, intercultural communication, and language learning and teaching. Please contact me to discuss your proposal.