Kiu-wai CHU

Kiu-wai Chu (朱翹瑋) is Assistant Professor in Environmental Humanities, and a faculty member of the Chinese programme. He obtained his PhD in Comparative Literature in University of Hong Kong, and his previous degrees from SOAS University of London and University of Cambridge. He was a visiting Fulbright scholar in University of Idaho, and Postdoctoral Fellows in University of Zurich and Western Sydney University. He is Luce East Asian Fellow at the National Humanities Center, and will be there in 2022-23 to work on his project, “Chinese Eco-images in the Planetary Age: The Multispecies World of Humans, Animals and Plants”.

His research focuses on ecocriticism, environmental humanities, animal studies, and contemporary cinema and visual art, specifically in Chinese and Southeast Asian contexts. His work has appeared in Oxford Bibliographies; books such as Transnational Ecocinema; Animated Landscapes; Ecomedia: Key Issues; The Palgrave Handbook of Asian Cinema; Cli-fi: A Companion; Chinese Environmental Humanities; and journals Interactions: Studies in Communication & Culture; Journal of Chinese Cinemas; Journal of Chinese Governance; Asian Cinema; photographies, Screen, and elsewhere.

He is a Living Lexicon Editor of journal Environmental Humanities (Duke University Press), and editorial board member of journals Media+Environment (University of California Press), Journal of Environmental Media (Intellect Books), and the book series "Green Media" (Amsterdam University Press) and "African and Asian Anthropocene: Studies in the Environmental Humanities" (Brill).

He is an Executive Council Member-at-large of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE-US) (2021-23). He is also a member of the Asian Cinema Research (ACR Lab).

Research Interests

Kiu-wai’s major research explores how cinema, media and arts represent nature and the environment; and how they impact people’s perceptions and actions towards environmental issues in contemporary world. It also examines how culture shapes, and is shaped by, the contacts and interactions between human and the more-than-human world (including animals, plants, inanimate objects, and the environment) in the Anthropocene age.

Kiu-wai is also actively promoting cross-regional research and educational initiatives and collaborations in Ecocriticism and Environmental Humanities, particularly in East and Southeast Asian regions. He welcomes global research collaborations with academics from all disciplines, and non-academics such as artists, curators, media workers and others on cultural and ecocritical projects.

Awards & Recognition

Fellowships & Other Recognition National Humanities Center Fellow (Luce East Asia Fellowship 2022-23)

Current Grants

Creation and Analysis of a Digital Asset with the Gibson-Hill Photographic Collection

Companies

• Assistant Professor in Environmental Humanities Nanyang Technological University (2019)
• Postdoctoral Research Fellow Australia-China Institute for Arts and Culture, Western Sydney University (2017 — 2019)
• SNF Postdoctoral Research Fellow Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies, University of Zurich (2016 — 2017)
• PhD Candidate The University of Hong Kong (2010 — 2014)
• Fulbright Visiting Scholar University of Idaho (2012 — 2013)
• Lecturer in Media and Film Studies HKUSPACE CIDP (2007 — 2010)

Education

• Ph.D. University of Hong Kong (Comparative Literature)
• M.A. University of Hong Kong (Literary and Cultural Studies)
• M.Phil. University of Cambridge (Screen Media and Cultures)
• B.A.(Hons) SOAS University of London (Politics and Southeast Asian Studies)