Research and Knowledge Exchange Areas

The Gender Studies Programme Research and Knowledge Exchange Areas represent nodes of intellectual synergy around which students, faculty and the public collaborate to produce new knowledge about gender and sexuality in Hong Kong, China, Asia and the world. Projects include faculty research, speakers sponsored by the Gender Studies Programme Seminar Series, workshops, and affiliated courses.

The Gender Studies Programme has designated six key areas of research and knowledge exchange that build on faculty research strengths and community interest:

Asian Feminisms

Convener: Prof. Elizabeth LaCouture

What does feminism mean in the contexts of Asia, China, and Hong Kong? This project challenges the assumption that feminism is Western and explores new theoretical models and pedagogical techniques for researching and teaching feminisms in and about Asia.

Gender Studies Programme Speaker Seminar Series

Courses

Race and Asia

Convenors: Dr. Jason Petrulis & Prof. Elizabeth LaCouture

This project explores critical race theory and intersectionality within the context of Asia.

Research

Dr. Elizabeth LaCouture, Programme Director, Gender Studies Programme, Associate Professor, Gender Studies and History
“Beauty, Cosmetics, and the Making of the Sinophone in the Twentieth-century”
Hong Kong General Research Fund Grant (GRF)

Race and Asia Workshop

  • Race and Asia Workshop
    Dr. Lawrence Chua, Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, Syracuse University, USA
    Dr. Puja Kapai, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law; Women Studies Research Centre Convener, HKU
    Dr. Elizabeth LaCouture, Gender Studies Programme Director; Associate Professor of Gender Studies and History, HKU
    Dr. Jason Petrulis, Lecturer, Department of History, HKU
    Dr. Sonja Thomas, Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Colby College, USA
    January 9-11, 2018
    Funded by the School of Humanities

Courses

Gender, Generation, and Leadership

Convenor: Dr. Staci Ford

Hong Kong, like much of Asia today, is a cultural crossroads where various generational perspectives inform policy and practice in the workplace. This project aims to connect Humanities-based knowledge in women’s/gender/sexuality studies to discussions of issues in today’s workplace.

Programmes

Knowledge Exchange

Courses

Gender, Sexuality, and Religion

Convenors: Prof. Elizabeth LaCouture & Dr. Staci Ford (2018/19)

A cosmopolitan city situated at the centre of East, Southeast and South Asias, Hong Kong is home to several religious traditions and cultures, and thus, offers a unique opportunity for interfaith dialogue among different communities. This project promotes intellectual inquiry and public dialogue around questions of religion, genders and sexualities.

Gender Studies Programme Speaker Seminar Series

Programmes

Knowledge Exchange

Course

Gender, Sexuality and the Arts

Convenor: Prof. Elizabeth LaCouture

Programmes

  • Huang Wenhai, Director, Cinematographer, Editor
    Zeng Jinyan, Producer, Co-director, Cinematographer, Performing Artist
    Trish McAdam, Animation Director
    “Outcry and Whisper: An Online Discussion Via Zoom”
    April 29, 2020
    Co-sponsored with the Center for the Study of Globalization and Cultures (CSGC), Department of Comparative Literature,  the Committee on Gender Equality and Diversity (CGED), the Women’s Studies Research Centre (WSRC), the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Haifa, and the Vision du Réel International Film Festival Nyon and funded by the School of Humanities

Undergraduate Research Internship

  • Sophia Ginsburg, Tufts University, USA
    “Gender and Sexuality in the Arts in Hong Kong”
    summer 2018

Course

Queer Intersections

Convenor: Prof. Grace En-Yi Ting

This project takes as its starting point concepts of “queer” involving affects and intimacies going beyond LGBTQ identities, with a strong emphasis on intersectionality in addressing interconnected forms of difference such as gender, race, class, and disability. The theme of “intersections” also refers to points of convergence between feminisms & queer theory, activisms & work within the academy, and Anglo-American queer studies & Asia.​

Programmes

  • Dr. Howard Chiang, Associate Professor, Department of History, College of Letters and Science, the University of California, Davis, the U.S.
    Dr. Alvin K. Wong, Assistant Professor, Department of Comparative Literature, School of Humanities, HKU
    Dr. Hongwei Bao, Associate Professor, Department of Cultural, Media and Visual Studies, School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies, the University of Nottingham, the U.K.
    Dr. Lucetta Y. L. Kam, Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Creative Writing, Faculty of Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University
    M. Antonio Lizada, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Comparative Literature, School of Humanities, HKU
    “Queering China and the Sinophone: A Joint Book Launch of Keywords in Queer Sinophone Studies and Queer China”
    June 16, 2020
    Co-sponsored with the Center for the Study of Globalization and Cultures (CSGC), Department of Comparative Literature, the Committee on Gender Equality and Diversity (CGED), and funded by the School of Humanities
  • Sam Brinton, the Vice President, Advocacy and Government Affairs, the Trevor Project, the United States
    “#WontBeErased: Protecting LGBTQ Youth from Conversion Therapy”
    May 6, 2019
    Co-sponsored with the Committee on Gender Equality and Diversity (CGED), the Center for the Study of Globalization and Cultures (CSGC), Pink Alliance, U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong & Macau and funded by the School of Humanities

Course