[News] Dr. Bosco's Article Wins Award at Hong Kong Studies Conference

An article published by Prof. Joseph Bosco in 2016, when he was teaching in the department, has been selected as one of the six outstanding papers in Hong Kong Studies for 2015/2016. The six papers were selected from 186 articles in Hong Kong Studies published in the previous year, and were presented at the first Hong Kong Studies Annual Conference sponsored by the Academy of Hong Kong Studies of the Education University of Hong Kong last week, on January 20th. Information on the conference and on the other awarded papers can be found at https://www.eduhk.hk/ahks/view.php?secid=51060

Dr. Bosco's award-winning article is:

Joseph Bosco (2016) "The Sacred in urban political protests in Hong Kong." International Sociology (2016) 31(4):375-395.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0268580916645767 (subscription necessary)

Poster of HKSAC

[新亞生活―老師投稿] 「木托盤上的中越風流」及「木托盤解碼」

本系教授張展鴻的文章「木托盤上的中越風流」及「木托盤解碼」分別被刊登於《新亞生活》第四十四卷第一期及第四十四卷第三期中。

「器物之美，除了工匠的技巧和創意之餘，值得注意的首推是其社會文化價值。 自古以來，飲食器物多刻有吉祥驅邪的象徵圖案， 寓意進食的儀式意義和身體與外界的互動關係。其後大家留意器物的交換價值和身份地位的展示功能，進一步為器物之研究帶來文化建構上的思考和探討。不過，在此我要為大家介紹的木托盤，不但有其不尋常的社會經歷，而且更為我們帶來廣闊的想像空間──交錯在過去數百年的中越文化互融關係之中。」(節錄於「木托盤上的中越風流」)

有興趣的朋友可於以下網址閱讀全文：

「木托盤上的中越風流」：
http://publications.na.cuhk.edu.hk/book/nalifemagazine/2016sep/#46

「木托盤解碼」：
http://publications.na.cuhk.edu.hk/book/nalifemagazine/2016nov/#44

[Publication] Wishing Well: Voices from Foreign Domestic Workers in Hong Kong and Beyond

The book Wishing Well: Voices from Foreign Domestic Workers in Hong Kong and Beyond, co-edited by Dr. Ju-chen Chen and Min Lee, is now available online.

Wishing Well is a collection of poems, essays and fiction written by migrant domestic workers. Published by HelperChoice, it is an open access book free for everyone to read.

Dr. Chen hopes that the book can help to convey the voices of foreign domestic workers to the mainstream society, so that non-domestic-worker readers can get to know more about the worlds of the domestic workers.

Link to the eBook: https://issuu.com/helperchoice/docs/wishing_well_domestic_workers.

Book cover (Source: issuu.com)

[Publication] 從“生物公民”到“環保公益”：一個基於案例的環保運動軌跡分析

本系博士畢業生張劼穎的文章《從“生物公民”到“環保公益”：一個基於案例的環保運動軌跡分析》被刊登於《開放時代》2016年第2期。

文章內容提要如下（轉載自《開放時代》）：

本研究檢視一場反對垃圾焚燒的環保運動的變遷軌跡。2009年，廣州番禺居民對於社區附近的市政垃圾焚燒設施展開抗議行動，訴求達成後，一些參與者並未停止反焚行動，而是以環保的方式持續干預廣州的垃圾治理。本研究從人類學的角度重新理解這場運動，在以民族誌的視角追溯運動軌跡的基礎上，試圖回答：運動發生了怎樣的變化；轉變的內外部動力和變遷的機制是什麼；如何理解這種變遷，以增進既有人類學理論對於“環保主義”作為一種全球性知識的理解。基於一年的田野調查，本研究發現，這場運動從圍繞生物公民 “私利”的抗爭，逐漸蛻變為以“環保”和“公益”為目標的社會行動。變遷循著兩條路徑展開：一是形式上的組織化；二是環保公益話語和表述的生成。隨著運動的制度化，體制外的抗議被納入，轉向對國家環境治理的協助和參與。

全文刊載於《開放時代》網站：http://www.opentimes.cn/bencandy.php?fid=408&aid=1958

《開放時代》網頁截圖

[Announcement] Department e-Newsletter (Spring 2016)

The e-newsletter (Spring 2016) of our department has been published! Click here to catch up with us on our latest news, student activities, department events and alumni updates.

Department e-newsletter (Spring 2016)

Contents

Department News (P.1)

• New Teacher
• Department Outreach

Department Events (P.2)

• Friday Seminars
• Conference
• Co-organized Talks
• Multiculturalism in Action Project

Student Activities (P.3)

• 2015-16 Undergraduate Student Society
• Lunar New Year Dinner
• 2016 New Asia Photo-taking Day
• The 8th Annual CUHK Anthropology Postgraduate Student Forum

Alumni Updates (P.4)

• Interview with Lee Wai Yi (MPhil in Anthropology, 1999)

If you have any suggestions, comments or news to share with our subscribers, feel free to contact Ms. Esther Chok at wschok@cuhk.edu.hk. We would like to hear from you!

4th Issue of Déjà Lu

The fourth issue of Déjà Lu has just been published! To read the whole issue, please go to http://www.wcaanet.org/dejalu/.

A screencap of Déjà Lu at WCAA website

Deja Lu is a journal of reprints from the world's anthropological journals--the best paper selected by the editors of different anthropological journals. This issue has 35 articles, all free for the reading.  It is designed to put the world's different anthropologies in different societies into a common forum.

Please have a look!

[Publication] Book Review on Chinese Migration to Europe: Prato, Italy, and Beyond

Hiu Ling, our MPhil graduate, has her first book review being published on the Journal of Chinese Overseas (Volume 11, Issue 2, pages 220 – 223). She reviewed the book Chinese Migration to Europe: Prato, Italy, and Beyond, written by Loretta Baldassar, Graeme Johanson, Narelle McAuliffe, and Massimo Bressan.

A screencap of Hiu Ling's publication on the website of Brill Online Books and Journals

To read the book review, please go to the website of Brill Online Books and Journals.

[Publication] Sunday catwalk: The self-making of Filipino migrant women in Hong Kong (Book Chapter)

Dr. Ju-chen Chen’s article, entitled “Sunday catwalk: The self-making of Filipino migrant women in Hong Kong”, has been published as a chapter of the book The Age of Asian Migration: Continuity, Diversity, and Susceptibility Volume 2, edited by Yuk Wah Chan, Heidi Fung, and Grażyna Szymańska-Matusiewicz:

"Ju-chen Chen offers a fascinating story of the self-enterprising Filipino domestic workers who do not rest on their rest days, but instead engage in all sorts of event-making activities. By participating in and organising beauty pageants, contests and performances, the migrant women un-mistakenly construct a new group identity for themselves which is not a replica of the national (home) discourse, but is a more regional or home-town based folk network. Through their busy schedules and flamboyant “catwalking” on Sundays, Filipino women reassert their desire to create a better self during their overseas stays as domestic workers in Hong Kong." 

Book cover of  The Age of Asian Migration: Continuity, Diversity, and Susceptibility Volume 2

The book explores three themes, which include "Women and Migration", "Refugee and Borderland Migration" and "Remittances and Migration Economics". Details of the book can be found at http://www.cambridgescholars.com/the-age-of-asian-migration-2.

Reference:
Chan, Yuk Wah, Fung, Heidi, & Szymańska-Matusiewicz, Grażyna eds. 2015. The Age of Asian Migration: Continuity, Diversity, and Susceptibility Volume 2. UK:Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

[Announcement] Department E-Newsletter (Fall 2015)

The E-Newsletter (Fall 2015) of Department of Anthropology has been published. Click here to catch up with us on our latest news, student activities, department events and alumni updates. 

If you have any suggestions, comments or news to share with our subscribers, please feel free to contact Ms. Esther Chok at wschok@cuhk.edu.hk. We want to hear from you!

Department's E-Newsletter (Fall 2015)

[Publication] 大資本農場不能打敗家庭農場嗎？ ——華南地區對蝦養殖業的資本化過程

黃瑜教授的文章"大資本農場不能打敗家庭農場嗎？ ——華南地區對蝦養殖業的資本化過程"被刊登於《開放時代》2015年第5期。文章節錄如下：

*********************************************************************

大資本農場不能打敗家庭農場嗎？

——華南地區對蝦養殖業的資本化過程

黃瑜

【內容提要】中國農業涉及的雇傭勞動比重之低，使得很多學者認為資本化並不必然帶來農民的無產化。本文通過揭示對蝦養殖業中農業資本從“形式隸屬”到“實際隸屬”的轉變來反駁上述假設。在早期階段，由於自然的和社會的雙重障礙，資本只是通過壟斷產業鏈的上下游來榨取農民的價值。然而在近幾年，蝦農在經歷了幾場嚴重的蝦病侵襲之後，不得不放棄對蝦養殖，農業資本借機滲透進生產環節，從而最終完成了資本的“實際隸屬”。通過追蹤廣東雷州一個新興的對蝦養殖基地，本文探討農業資本如何完成土地流轉、技術控制和勞動監督以獲得反季銷售的高價，進而逐步淘汰家庭農場。這個分析有助於我們理解階級形成的動態過程以及農民無產化的軌跡。

Abstract： The low ratio of hired labor in China’s agriculture has convinced quite a number of scholars that capitalization does not necessarily lead to proletariatization of the farmers. The author rejects this view by revealing the transformation of agricultural capitals from “nominal ownership” to “real ownership” in prawn aquaculture. In the early stage， due to both natural and social obstacles, capitals can only extract the farmers’ values through monopolizing the production chain upstream and downstream. However, in recent years， after a few bouts of catastrophic prawn endemic, prawn farmers have to give up prawn business. Agricultural capitals cash in on this situation and achieve “real ownership.” By tracing the development of a rising prawn aquaculture base in Leizhou, the author explores how agricultural capitals accomplish land transfer, technological control and labor supervision, and successfully mark up sales price in the low season. In this way, agricultural capitals are gradually driving household farms out of business. The analysis will give some insight into the dynamic process of class formation and the way in which farmers are being turned into proletariats.

《開放時代》網頁截圖

***********************************************************************

瀏覽全文：《開放時代》2015年第5期：大資本農場不能打敗家庭農場嗎？——華南地區對蝦養殖業的資本化過程

英文版本：Wiley Online Library

[Publication] East Asian Anthropology in the World

The article "East Asian Anthropology in the World", written by Prof. Gordon Mathews, has been published in American Anthropologist (Volume 117, Issue 2, p.364-383). Prof. Mathews talks about the globalization of anthropology and discusses the current development of anthropology in East Asia. Below is an extract from the article:

"Anthropology is a luxury. Rich countries can afford anthropology and particularly anthropology beyond one's own country's borders; poor countries cannot. Throughout much of the 20th century, anthropologists from the United States and Western Europe (as well as, to an extent, Japan) traveled the globe to do their fieldwork, while anthropologists from most other countries in the world practiced within their own borders, lacking the financial means to go elsewhere. This continues to be the case at present: for example, Chinese and Indian anthropologists, to name just two of the world's larger national contingents, continue to be primarily involved in studying different ethnic groups within their own country. However, this is changing: today, an ever larger number of anthropologists in societies throughout the world—in terms of East Asia, not just Japan and Hong Kong but also to an extent Korea and Taiwan—are engaging in anthropological research beyond their own society's borders. As world wealth spreads, anthropology will increasingly become no longer a matter of Western countries conducting ethnography on their former colonies and other poorer societies but more and more of the world investigating more and more of the world."(Mathews 2015:364)

A screenshot of the article of Prof. Mathews on Wiley Online Library

Read more at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aman.12237/full.

[Publication] Building homeland heritage: multiple homes among the Chinese diaspora and the politics on heritage management in China

Hiu Ling Chan and Christopher Cheng, MPhil graduates of our department in 2012, have recently published a co-authored paper in the International Journal of Heritage Studies. The paper, entitled “Building Homeland Heritage: Multiple Homes among the Chinese Diaspora and the Politics on Heritage Management in China”, is based on Chan’s MPhil research “Building ‘Tang Heritage’: The Wuli Mausoleum and its Transregional Connections” under the supervision of Prof. Tracey Lu. 

Hiu Ling's and Christoper's article on Taylor & Francis Online

Abstract of the paper:

"Community involvement is arguably a key component behind sustainable heritage management. Under strict government control, however, local community-led initiatives are difficult to find in China. Nonetheless, through remittances and philanthropic contributions to their respective communities, the Chinese diaspora have long been seen as an important source of foreign capital and a driving force behind homeland development. A transregional study (mainland China, Hong Kong and Canada) was carried out to explore the relationship between local communities in China and the diaspora, how each party was involved (or not) and the factors that affect their engagement in a government-initiated clanship heritage project in post-reform China. Investigating how different ‘associated people’ perceive, construct and even manipulate heritage, this study found that participation is not only related to wealth, success or status, but also to residential orientations, self-perceptions of the motherland and notions of authentic and/or symbolic roots. The study offers insight into the nature and politics of heritage management in contemporary China. Furthermore, it contributes to our understanding of how multiple homes can affect diasporic interpretations of, and connections with, the homeland."

For more information, please visit http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13527258.2015.1068211#abstract.

[Event] Book Launch Party: Love's Uncertainty: The Politics and Ethics of Child Rearing in Contemporary China

There will be a launch party for Prof. Teresa Kuan's new book Love's Uncertainty: The Politics and Ethics of Child Rearing in Contemporary China.

Details of the party are as follows:

Date: 18 September 2015

Time: 12:30 P.M. – 2:00 P.M.

Venue: Arts and Humanities Hub, G24, Fung King Hey Building, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

RSVP at http://goo.gl/forms/GgSYZyz9GN on or before 13 September.

Flyer of the event

All are welcome. We look forward to seeing you at the party!

[轉載]“鬼故事”裡的“鬼”是什麼？ —— 文化相對主義視角的理解

踏入農曆七月，總讓人想起鬼神之說。在香港，甚至在中大校園，也流傳了不少鬼故事。你又可有想過如何用文化的角度去理解「超自然」的故事？復旦-人類學之友的博客最近發表了一篇文章，引用了本系副教授林舟的研究，探究對神秘現象的眾說紛談背後的社會及文化成因。

節錄內容（轉載自復旦-人類學之友的博客）

（作者：向昕、嚴詩菱、杜世超）

「很多人也許都曾被問到過：“你相不相信世界上有鬼？”的問題，但鬼神、巫術、魔法等其實常常被我們看作是生活中被“懸置”的神秘事物，“敬而遠之”。信或不信，似乎都不太會去探究其背後的文化背景。在林舟（Joseph Bosco）的《The supernatural in Hong Kong young people’s ghost stories》一文中，他也從超自然和自然兩者視角來討論了這個問題。文章給予我們的啟發之一就是，對於超越自然法則和人們常識的現象，或許根本上來說就是文化的產物。那麼，我們也可以通過背後的文化去理解“超自然”的故事，去嘗試理解人們看待世界的視角和方式, 而非簡單地扣上“迷信”的“污名”。本文並非要給“是否有超自然現象存在”的問題一個確切答案，而是通過特定角度對一些神秘的現象背後的社會、文化因素進行探索。文章首先將對於林舟的文章內容進行簡單的翻譯和介紹。接著將從宗教儀式與祖先崇拜，對鬼故事和超自然現象背後的文化進行分析。最後結合借鑒林舟的視角，對於具體地域學生間傳播的一些巫蠱故事的現象進行探討。」

按此查看全文。

復旦-人類學之友博客截圖

林舟教授的相關論文

Bosco, Joseph. 2007. “Young People's Ghost Stories in Hong Kong.”  The Journal of Popular Culture 40(5):785-807.

Bosco, Joseph. 2003. “The Supernatural in Hong Kong Young People's Ghost Stories.” Anthropological Forum 13(2):141-149.

[Publication] 公路上的人類學家 Anthropologists on the Road

書本封面及目錄
Cover and contents of the book

繼《上環印記》及《香港濕地四季遊》後，張展鴻教授與野外動向再度合作出版《公路上的人類學家》。書本記錄了人類學學者(當中有不少是本系的研究生及教授)在進行田野考察時的觀察和經歷，內容中英對照。書本售價為港幣$58，於各區刊物售賣點有售。

書名：公路上的人類學家 

編者：張展鴻 、駱吉婷 

簡介：

「公路」，本來是連貫兩地的基建工程。

公路的旅程上，經常出現無法預期的「故事」，而其中的戲劇性情節不僅是社會萬花筒，更展示了人生無常和人事多變的情和境。因此「公路」也成為電影故事的敍事技巧，強調自我的探索和反思。

本書借用了「公路上」一詞來呈現一群從事人類學的年青學者和研究生在走過當下中國社會田野時的觀察和感受。他們從事研究的漫長歲月裏，和每個香港市民一樣，不單有成功的經驗，也有失敗的教訓，他們在奔馳過的公路旅程中留下段段心路歷程，把遊走在田野的機遇、探索和融會等經驗與大家分享。

詳情: http://platform.hkdiscovery.com/?p=40761

***************************************************************

Professor Sidney Cheung's new edited book Anthropologists on the Road, published by Hong Kong Discovery, can now be purchased in various magazine/book outlets. The book, written in Chinese with English translation, retells the observations and experiences of anthropologists (many of which are our teachers/students) doing fieldwork in China. Retail price of the book is HK$58.

Title: Anthropologists on the Road

Editors: Sidney C. H. Cheung and Luo Jiting

Introduction:

A Road is an infrastructure that connects one place to another.

Anything can happen in a long road journey – every story tells something about society, and altogether they weave lives between individuals. For this, “road movie” is a popular film genre that stresses self-exploration and rethinking.

Taking the spirit of the “road”, this book retells observations and reflections after a group of fresh anthropology researchers and postgraduates walked through the fields of contemporary China. It’s been time that they began their journey of research and, just as any ordinary citizen of Hong Kong, have come through successes and failures. Miles and miles there are stories that touch their hearts, which they would really like to share with the readers along with their other experiences on the road.

Detail: http://platform.hkdiscovery.com/?p=40761

[Publication] The Social Life of American Crayfish in Asia (Book Chapter)

Re-orienting cuisine: East Asian foodways in the twenty-first century

Professor Sidney Cheung’s article, entitled “The Social Life of American Crayfish in Asia”, has been published as a chapter of the book Re-orienting cuisine: East Asian foodways in the twenty-first century, edited by Kwang Ok Kim:

“Sidney Cheung (chapter 12) shows how crayfish harvested in the United States were imported into China via Japan and have been reinvented and transformed into a new local specialty food of the Nanjing area, now serving as a critical source of income for the local residents. What is particularly emphasized in this process is the fact that the reinvention of crayfish into an economically profitable crop in the fish farms of Nanjing and its restaurants involves serious ecological destruction, but such consequences do not draw the slightest attention of the local authorities, the farmers, and the consumers” (Kim 2015: 8).

The book consists of 14 chapters, which expand the discussion of food to include its social and cultural meanings and functions. Details of the book can be found at http://www.berghahnbooks.com/title.php?rowtag=KimRe-Orienting.

Contents of the book

Reference: 

Kim, Kwang Ok ed. 2015. Re-orienting cuisine: East Asian foodways in the twenty-first century. New York: Berghahn Books.

[Publication] 飄泊中的永恆：一個人類學家的理想國 (Drifting Eternity: the Utopia for an Anthropologist—Dedicated to Mr. Chiao Chien’s 80th Birthday)

不少人類學學生都應該聽過喬健(Chiao Chien)這個名字。香港中文大學人類學系在1980年正式設立，而喬健正是當年學系的系主任。為了紀念喬先生的八十壽辰，本系的舊生張小軍(現為清華大學社會學系教授)於廣西民族大學學報(哲學社會科學版)撰寫了一篇文章總結喬先生對人類及文化的關懷。

**************************************************************

作者：張小軍

題目：飄泊中的永恆：一個人類學家的理想國

出版資料：載於《廣西民族大學學報》 (哲學社會科學版)，第37卷第1期，45–48頁

文章導讀

內容撮要：

儘管喬健自幼離開大陸，他對家鄉的情結卻十分深厚。人類、中國、民眾乃是他幾十年的學術研究和教學工作當中的三個核心概念。喬健先後撰寫及編輯過三十多本論著，並發表過約百篇的學術論文。他的研究涉及多個領域，包括大陸及台灣的少數族群、中國家庭、底邊社會、香港文化、及人類學在中國的發展。談到人類學的本土化，喬健認為所謂的本土化並非要建構出另一套封閉的學術體系。要對世界學術有理論貢獻，中國學者應要有立足本土的深入研究，由本土概念及案例建立理論。

亞洲及美洲的文化關聯亦是喬健長期的學術關注之一，研究背後的關注是世界文化的形態及其變化。喬健相信理解人類之永恆才是真正的人類學視野――無論研究是有關中國或是其他地方的文化，永恆的追求並不應限於一國、一族、一鄉、一地的研究，而是探索人類思想與行為的基本規律與結構。

隨著社會的變遷，人類學家需要不斷調整及適應自己的研究方向。現代社會的失調、複雜及紛亂，已打破了規律、保守、穩定的固有文化形式。喬健曾提到機械、形式、單純的理論與方法再不足以圓滿地研討及表達社會現象；現代的社會科學家需探索一種更細微、貼切的方法和觀念來涵概複雜多變的社會。喬健對人類文化的尊重、珍惜及關懷，反映了人類學家的特有情懷，並讓人反思如何理解及保護文化。

(全文載於《廣西民族大學學報》 (哲學社會科學版)，第37卷第1期，45–48頁)

[Publication] Love's Uncertainty: The Politics and Ethics of Child Rearing in Contemporary China

Paperback cover

Prof. Teresa Kuan's new book on the politics and ethics of child rearing in contemporary China has been published. The book can be purchased from Amazon.com and will soon be available at CUHK's bookstore (stay tuned to our Facebook and Weibo for latest updates).

Book Description:
Love’s Uncertainty explores the hopes and anxieties of urban, middle-class parents in contemporary China. Combining long-term ethnographic research with analyses of popular child-rearing manuals, television dramas, and government documents, Teresa Kuan bears witness to the dilemmas of ordinary Chinese parents, who struggle to reconcile new definitions of good parenting with the reality of limited resources. Situating these parents’ experiences in the historical context of state efforts to improve "population quality," Love’s Uncertainty reveals how global transformations are expressed in the most intimate of human experiences. Ultimately, the book offers a meditation on the nature of moral agency, examining how people discern, amid the myriad contingencies of life, the boundary between what can and cannot be controlled.

Contents:
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Politics of Childhood
2. The Horrific and the Exemplary
3. “The Heart Says One Thing but the Hand Does Another”
4. Creating Tiaojian, or, The Art of Disposition
5. The Defeat of Maternal Logic in Televisual Space
6. Investing in Human Capital, Conserving Life Energies
7. Banking in Affects
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Details of the book can be found here.

[Announcement] Department E-Newsletter (Spring 2015)

The E-Newsletter (Spring 2015) of Department of Anthropology has been published. Click here to catch up with us on our latest news, new publications, and past and upcoming events. In this issue we have invited a fresh graduate of our Department to share with us her first job experience as a research assistant at the Hong Kong Museum of History. FINAL YEAR STUDENTS SHALL NOT MISS THIS!

If you have any suggestions, comments or news to share with our subscribers, please feel free to contact Ms. Esther Chok at wschok@cuhk.edu.hk. We want to hear from you!

Department's E-Newsletter (Spring 2015)

*****************************************************************

Contents of the E-Newsletter (Spring 2015)

Special feature ― Demystifying the job of research assistant at local museum

“It is the season of graduation and job-hunting, and final year students are ready to land their first job. Working in the museum maybe a dream career for students majoring in anthropology, but the question is: Are there any positions in local museums that are open to fresh graduates?”

Honors and Appointments

• Faculty of Arts Outstanding Teaching Award 2014
• Appointment as the Associate Dean (Education) of the Faculty of Arts
• Appointment to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee
• Exemplary Teaching Award in General Education 2014
• Appointment to the Antiquities Advisory Board

Latest Publications

• Rethinking Asian Food Heritage
• Love's Uncertainty: The Politics and Ethics of Child Rearing in Contemporary China

Knowledge Transfer

• Multiculturalism In Action: Nepali Culture Workshop
• “Multicultural Hong Kong in Celebration” Series

Conferences and Seminars

• The 7th Anthropology Postgraduate Student Forum
• Undergraduate Student Forum
• Friday Seminars (Spring 2015)

Undergraduate Activities

• Lunar New Year Dinner
• New Asia College Graduation Photo Day
• Academic Planning Day for Secondary Five students
• Farewell Party

*****************************************************************

[Publication] Report on Current Researches on Islam in Hong Kong (Book Chapter)

Localization of Islam in China (book cover)

The paper of Professor Paul James O’Connor, entitled “Report on Current Researches on Islam in Hong Kong”, has been published as a book chapter in the book Localization of Islam in China, edited by Li Chang-kuan. The book is a collection of 11 papers written by different scholars. It explores the history, development and other issues related to Islamic communities in China. 

************************************************************ 

Report on Current Researches on Islam in Hong Kong 

Author: Paul James O’Connor 

Abstract:

By the end of 2013 Hong Kong’s Muslim population had grown to over 270,000. It has become increasingly evident that large numbers of Muslims live and work in Hong Kong and in many ways the city is a hospitable place for them. Islam in Hong Kong has for a long time been overlooked and little understood by the Hong Kong Chinese majority. However, the situation is changing. The conference on Islamic Civilizations in Multiple Perspectives held on 13 September 2013 at the Chinese University of Hong Kong highlighted the growing interest and recognition of Islam in Hong Kong. This paper surveys the history of Muslims in Hong Kong and provides an overview of recent and emerging research on Islam in the territory. It highlights an array of issues pertinent to Muslims in Hong Kong such as mosque development, education, pilgrimage, food, and media representations. It concludes by addressing the position of Islam in Hong Kong and the question of who speaks for and represents Muslim communities in Hong Kong. 

************************************************************ 

Details and contents of the book could be found at the website of The Chinese University Press.