Spotlight

Prof. Joseph BOSCO (2nd from right) in the Presentation Ceremony of 2013 Exemplary Teaching Award in General Education with Prof. Sidney CHEUNG, Dr. HUANG Yu and Dr. Teresa KWAN

Prof. Joseph BOSCO has been awarded the 2013 Exemplary Teaching Award in General Education. He has been teaching in the Department of Anthropology since 1992, and has taught four General Education courses over the years: UGEC2662 Culture and Business, UGEA2180 Chinese Culture and Society, UGEC1681 Humans and Culture, and the popular course UGEC2960 Magic, Myth and the Supernatural.

"One of my primary objectives as an anthropologist is to help students see how culture shapes our view of the world. I want them to be able to see things from a different culture's perspective, and to see beyond their naturally ethnocentric perspective." More…

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Faculty Publications

Joseph BOSCO

The Problem of Greed in Economic Anthropology: Sumptuary Laws and New Consumerism in China

The Centre for Cultural Heritage Studies, Department of Anthropology has invited Prof. FAN Jinshi, Director of the Dunhuang Academy to CUHK to give two talks on 21 January and 24 January, on the cultural significance as well as the protection of Dunhuang Mogao Caves. To read more about Prof. Fan's visit in CUHK...

Our current PhD student YU Xin has been awarded the Hop Wai Short Term Research Scholarship 洽蕙短期進修研究贊助金 for her fieldwork in Malaysia on "The Concept of 'bu' and the Cross-border Trade in Birds' Nests: The Sarawak Case" ("'補'和燕窩跨境貿易——以Sarawak（沙撈越）為個案"). YU Xin's research will examine the birds' nest (燕窩) trade between China and Sarawak (Malaysia) during 19th and 20th centuries, with a particular perspective on how the concept of bu (tonic) in Chinese food culture motivates, sustains, and underlies trading activities and thus constitutes an essential element in trading.

Mei Ling YOUNG, our December 2014 graduate, has been awarded the very prestigious Esther Yewpick Lee Millennium Scholarship for 2014 which pays for her to go to Oxford University to study for an MPhil in International Relations. Her bachelor thesis was on DJs and electronic dance music in Hong Kong; she currently works as a DJ for Midnight & Co., a local club and dance music collective, and is also active in music production. Her main academic interests are the rise of right-wing populism in Europe, tensions between Mainland and Hong Kong Chinese in the SAR, and, more broadly, the changing nature of citizenship and sovereignty in a globalized world.

Events

New Asia College Graduation Photo-taking Day for Undergraduate Students

Anthropology graduates from New Asia College gathered on 21st February taking group photos with each other and with professors from the Department to celebrate their graduation. The celebration ceremony later includes activities such as roast pig cutting, champagne opening and professors signing on the notebook, giving graduates blessings and memories for a full complete of their study.

Former Postgraduate Students Sharing Work Experience

Students in Anthropology often ask questions about careers and how to apply their knowledge learned in school in their future job. The Postgraduate Students' Society of Anthropology Department invited former students to talk about their work experience. On March 24, four former MA and MPhil graduates were invited to the Job Hunting Workshop to share with around 30 participants from the department their career life and job hunting experience.

Two MA students (one a recent graduate) have shared in this South China Morning Post newspaper article about how the anthropology programme has benefited them in their perspectives on life and in their career.

The 6th CUHK Anthropology Postgraduate Student Forum

The department has successfully held the 6th Annual Postgraduate Student Forum on the topic "Asia in the World: New Horizons in Asian Anthropology" on 17-18 January. Students from many renowned anthropology programmes came and presented their research on traditional as well as hot topics in anthropology, such as economy, religion, politics, ethnicity, gender, migration, body, sub-culture, modernity, globalization and identity, etc. The forum is held each year during January and has provided a platform for graduate students in Asia and elsewhere to communicate and present their current research. For those who are interested in joining the forum, the deadline for abstract submission is in October each year.

Alumni Updates

Viki LI (BSSc '99 and MPhil '01) joined the finance industry about 10 years ago and specializes in investor relations and corporate communications for listed companies. In short, she is the company representative who introduces and updates the company’s business performance and financial data to institutional investors, shareholders and the financial media. She then reports to the top management feedback from these meetings. Viki has developed investor relations programs and crisis management systems for her companies. She is routinely involved in writing and designing financial reports, developing and updating corporate collateral such as websites, company brochures and presentation materials, as well as organizing large scale corporate events with investors and the press. Viki is now taking some time off to prepare for her wedding and to travel.

Maggie LIN (MPhil '08) Seeing that Hong Kong lacks human connection and that many seem unfulfilled in life, Maggie cofounded The Pocket Parks Collective in 2012, to connect and enhance people's well-being through participatory art projects. Their projects include setting up a pop-up tea cafe, Sunset Tea Bar, where they had strangers talk to each other using a conversation menu; and using Chinese chess to have participants share their ideas of courage and experiences at A Chess Called Courage. She recently left her job as Project Director of Project Share, a local non-profit serving youth from low-income families, to embark on a trip to Colombia, the world's happiest country, to learn about social urbanism, perform socially engaged art and to unlock the secret to happiness. She is also the chapter leader for GOOD HK, the local chapter of GOOD, an international media company promoting doing good and living well.