Ke Li, assistant professor of law and society, received four major awards for her book Marriage Unbound: State Law, Power, and Inequality in Contemporary China. Published by Stanford University Press, Marriage Unbound documents devastating inequalities in Chinese divorce courts. Based on a decade of ethnographic and archival research, Li chronicles collusion between judges and lawyers against disadvantaged rural women in unfair divorce lawsuits.

The four prizes won by Li are

• The Herbert Jacob Book Prize from the Law and Society Association, which recognizes new, outstanding work in law and society scholarship.
   
• The Victoria Schuck Award from the American Political Science Association (APSA), which acknowledges the best book published on women and politics.
   
• The C. Herman Pritchett Award from the APSA, which recognizes outstanding books on law and courts.
   
• The Distinguished Book Award from the Sociology of Law section of the American Sociological Association, which acknowledges theoretically and methodically rigorous scholarship.

“We are extremely proud of Professor Li’s incredible accomplishment. These awards are testament to her scholarship, dedication to her field, and significant contributions. We are lucky to have her as a John Jay College community member,” said Dr. Anthony Carpi, Associate Provost and Dean of Research.

Li’s recent work also includes “Gendering a New Marker of Adulthood: Home Ownership in Southwest China,” in Sociological Forum (with Danielle Kane), and “Land Dispossession and Women’s Rights Contention in Rural China” in China Law and Society Review.