Background

Calvin Hui is ​an Assistant Professor of Chinese Studies in Modern Languages and Literatures at the College of William and Mary. In May 2013, he received his PhD in Literature at Duke University, after completing his dissertation “The People’s Republic of Capitalism: The Making of the New Middle Class in Post-Socialist China, 1978 - Present” under the supervision of Rey Chow, Michael Hardt, and Fredric Jameson. His research and teaching focus on modern Chinese humanities (film, media, and literature), critical theory, and cultural studies, with particular emphases​ on Marxist theory, gender and sexuality studies, and post-colonial and ethnic studies.

Currently, he is working on a book manuscript about fashion, cinema, documentary, and consumer culture in the contexts of socialist and post-socialist China. He also researches on China's ​"shanzhai​"​ (copycat) cultures such as ​art and ​architecture​. His publications have appeared in Journal of Chinese Cinemas, Verge: Studies in Global Asias, and The Changing Landscape of China's Consumerism.

In spring 201​7, Calvin Hui ​will be teaching "CHIN 100: Fashion, Media, and Chinese Consumer Culture" ​ and "CHIN 250: Introduction to Chinese Cultural Studies." ​​Since coming to William and Mary in fall 2013, he has offered courses such as "CHIN 150:​ Brand New China​," "CHIN 220​: Chinese Popular Culture​,​" "CHIN 360: Introduction to Chinese Cinema​," and "CHIN 428: Fake Globalization, Counterfeit China." 

He ​has ​directed an honors thesis entitled "Cooperative Comrades: Contract Marriages and the Chinese LGBT Movement," which focuses on "fake" marriages between gay men and lesbians in contemporary China​. In addition, he has supervised independent study ​projects ​such as "China Opening Up: Sexxx Cultures and Politics since 1978​," "Copycat China," and "Sexuality, Consumption, and Chinese "Danmei" Fiction." He welcomes students' inquiry about pursuing honors thesis or independent study in the following areas: (1) The Chinese ​middle class and culture​s​; (2) U.S.-China ​​cultural ​exchange; (3) ​consumer ​culture​s​ and ​counterfeit ​culture​s​; (4)​ migrant ​labor ​​issues; (5)​ environmental ​concerns; and (6) Chinese ​diaspora (ethnicity) and the ​Sinophone (language).