Canada is an important site for migration, exile, and diasporic communities from Hong Kong. This group, the first academic initiative to study Hong Kong and its diaspora at the University of Toronto, advocates for and explores the multifaceted socio-cultural and historical experiences of Hong Kong immigrants to Canada. We focus on how different generations negotiate diverse cultural and historical positions in Canada. Existing diasporic discourses often categorize the Hong Kong diaspora under the umbrella of Chinese Canadian. In Hong Kong Studies, scholars and community initiatives tend to essentialize Hong Kong as an identity, neglecting its mobile and transnational experiences in Canada. This working group adopts an interstitial approach, advocating for studies of Hong Kong that have open boundaries and are filled with messy and fragmented narratives. Our approach will include examinations of cultural terms, their evolution over time, and the unique, intergenerational links between Hong Kong and Canada. The Hong Kong-Canada group will also evaluating complex and contradictory relationships with the existing disciplines of Hong Kong Studies and Chinese Canadian Studies. To request to join the group, email the group lead linked in the list.
Leads
- Chris Song, Assistant Professor, UTSC Language Studies
- Maria Lau, Director, RCL Canada-Hong Kong Library
- Mitchell Ma, Ph.D. Candidate, UTM Anthropology
- Bernice Hoi Ching Cheung, Ph.D. Candidate, Music
Faculty Members, University of Toronto
- Diana Fu, A&S Political Science
- Larissa Lai, A&S English and Canadian Studies
- Felix Cheung, A&S Psychology
Faculty Members Outside University of Toronto
- Ting Guo, Cultural & Religious Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Wendy Siuyi Wong, Design, York University
- Yuk-Lin Renita Wong, Social Work, York University
Community Professional
- Dr. Magdelena Tang, Teaching Artist, Sistema Toronto
Graduate Students, University of Toronto
- Bernice Chau, History
- Roland Cheng, Human Geography
- Hiu Fung Chung, Information
- Koby Song Nicols, History
- Pamela Tsui, Sociology
- Alex Kachun Wong, Architecture
Graduate Students Outside University of Toronto
- Alex Fong, Social Work, York University
- Michelle Wong, Cultural Studies, Queen’s University