Anchored on the principles of AIM (Adaptive, Inclusive & Moral), Ang’s teaching strives to nurture a next generation of thinkers and changemakers for a disrupted, multipolar world.
Specifically, she hopes to inspire students to embrace disruptions - be it multipolarity or artificial intelligence - as possibilities to explore, not threats to eliminate (Adaptive), to recognize the common humanity of people across cultures (Inclusive), and to be aware of power and positionality in knowledge production, so that they can become truly independent thinkers (Moral).
In Spring 2026, she will teach two courses: “From Polycrisis to Polytunity” and “Directed Improvisation with AI.”
Teaching
Featured Courses @ JHU
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Course description: Around the world, people speak of living through a “polycrisis”—a time when overlapping crises and disruptions trigger fear and paralysis. Prof. Yuen Yuen Ang invites you to flip the script: from polycrisis to polytunity, seeing disruption as a portal to new possibilities.
Polytunity opens into Ang’s paradigm - AIM (Adaptive, Inclusive, Moral) Political Economy - which she has seeded and applied throughout her earlier work (e.g., How China Escaped the Poverty Trap, China’s Gilded Age).
Together we’ll explore AIM’s three pillars: Adaptive (systems not machine thinking), Inclusive (diverse pathways, not one universal template), and Moral (ideas are shaped by power and positionality)—and trace how they can inspire new research questions, empirical agendas, and real-world applications.
As an example of paradigm-building, Ang will also share how her “intellectual forest” grows from roots to canopy, extending across collaborative research projects and public engagement programs.
Course day & time: Mondays, 2-5 PM
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Course Description: This exploratory PhD seminar invites students into the emerging space where human research practices and artificial intelligence begin to overlap, intersect, and challenge one another.
Anchored on the concept of directed improvisation, which Ang (2016) earlier applied in the context of Chinese economic development and now extend to AI, the course treats the human researcher as a director—shaping the goals, prompts, and context in which AI, like a responsive actor, co-creates.
We will not treat AI as a shortcut, a threat, or a mere tool, but rather as a partner in thought that requires attunement and direction. To that ends, we will practice thoughtful ways to work with AI to enhance the research process, pairing hands-on exercises with discussions about the history of technological disruption and contemporary debates about AI.
This is not a course with fixed rules or prepackaged answers. AI is a disruptive technology that unsettles many foundational assumptions about learning, authorship, and originality. Our goal is to think together, test out unfamiliar methods, and engage some of the deeper questions that haven’t yet been fully named. What we discover will emerge through practice and experimentation.
Course day & time: Thursday, 11 AM - 1 PM
Global & Comparative
From Polycrisis to Polytunity
AIM: Adaptive, Inclusive & Moral Political Economy
The State & Innovation in Emerging Markets
China
China & the World
China’s Great Transformation: From the Old to New Growth Model
Research Design & Comparative Perspectives in Studying China
Methods, Tools & Creativity
Directed Improvisation with AI
Doing Mixed Methods Research in Social Science
What Students Say
Yuen Yuen Ang challenges her students to question their assumptions, offers new historical context, and provides local perspectives to encourage rigorous and respectful dialogue.
Consistently, her students say that she engages them deeply in ‘every single one of her lectures.’ Others remark, “the quality of instruction in this course was phenomenal.’
— Tronstein Award for Outstanding & Innovative Teaching
“I can't begin to express how this class 180–ed my entire understanding of Us–china relations.”
“She fostered excellent discussions in class, and she is the first professor I've seen do this successfully in a lecture hall with at least a hundred students.”
“It's enhanced my analytical skills by a very large factor, Professor Ang did a great job of reinforcing the importance of evaluating evidence carefully throughout the semester.”
— What students say about “China & the World”
“While being a very strict mentor, her candidness and high standards were what motivated my growth during my years at JHU. Her wisdom and advice informed my future decision-making. While being extremely busy, her willingness to take time to hear my concerns and uncertainties matters A LOT.”