Classification and Quantification
What is the power/knowledge dynamics in social classifications and how they interact with people they classified?
I am interested in the politics of how institutions produce classifications/quantifications of people, how would these classifications reshape lives of people they classified/quantified, and how do people respond to these classification/quantification. My new project focuses on the emerging Chinese Social Credit Systems (SCSs) that aim to quantify and govern people's trustworthiness. My latest publication under this theme reviews the multiplicity of the Chinese SCS and articulates the relations among different types of SCSs.
Sexuality and Politics
How is sexuality associated with and influenced by power and political structures?
My projects under this theme focus on the politics around sexuality in China. Chinese authoritarianism and modernism produce a hybrid of two power mechanisms, i.e. the Foucauldian reproductive biopower and authoritarian repressive power. I am interested in how do they interact with and/or contradict to each other in producing the sexual subjectivity and citizenship; and how do they impact society. My latest publication examines how Chinese socio-political structure impacts the LGBTQ non-governmental organizations' engagements in clinical trials. I also have a paper that examines the politics around the global health classification "men who have sex with men (MSM)" under the Chinese reproductive/repressive power mechanism, which is currently under review.
HIV/AIDS in the Social Context
What are the social determinants of the HIV/AIDS risks among gay, bisexual, and other sexual minorities in China?
My sociology background leads me to study the socio-structural factors that might influence sexual minority's HIV related risks, while my personal interests lead me to focus on emerging technologies. My latest publication under this theme clarified the relationship between migration and HIV risks by comparing differences of HIV-related risky sexual behaviors and healthcare utilization across competing conceptualizations of migratory statues, and highlighted the structural barriers that migrant with rural origins faced in China. I have also worked in various studies on the LGBTQ community engagement, the use of social media for sex-seeking, and disclosure of LGBT and HIV status.
