About
What is Sinophone Studies ?
Since the initial conceptualization of Sinophone studies over a decade ago as a field that examines Sinitic-language cultures and communities marked by difference and heterogeneity around the world, scholarly work in the field has become more and more interdisciplinary, involving not only literary and cinema studies, but also history, anthropology, musicology, linguistics, art history, dance, and others. Now we routinely see “Sinophone” as a specific marker with multiple implications that are no longer merely denotative, enabling, on the one hand, marginalized voices, sites, and practices to come into view, and, on the other hand, an expanded conversation with such fields as postcolonial studies, settler colonial studies, immigration studies, ethnic studies, queer studies, and area studies. There have been vibrant debates at the definitional and conceptual level about critical issues and standpoints, such as the pros and cons of the diasporic framework (diaspora as history versus diaspora as value), the difficulty of overcoming Chineseness, the strength and pitfalls of language-determined identities, imperial and anti-imperial politics, racialization and self-determination of minority peoples, place-based cultural practices, the dialectics between roots and routes, and many others, and presently, scholars in disciplines other than literary and cinema studies have begun to join these conversations. The increasingly interdisciplinary nature of Sinophone studies compels us to take stock, at this particular historical conjuncture, of where this inherently interdisciplinary field has been, where it is going, and where it might go in the future.
3S Formation
Following the successful “Sinophone Studies” conference held in April of 2019 at the University of California, Los Angeles, we announce the formation of the Society of Sinophone Studies to promote the study of Sinitic-language communities and cultures around the world. The Society seeks to provide support for scholars with an interest in Sinophone studies and welcomes any regional, disciplinary, and topical expertise.
Inaugural Governing Board
Chair: Howard Chiang, University of California, Davis
Vice Chair: E.K. Tan, Stony Brook University
Secretary-Treasurer: Rebecca Ehrenwirth, University of Applied Languages/SDI Munich
Program Director: Brian Bernards, University of Southern California
Communications Director: Lily Wong, American University
Group Photo at the 3S Conference in UCLA, 2019
Mission
The Society of Sinophone Studies (3S) is an international, nonprofit scholarly society founded on May 4, 2019. Our main goal is to promote the study of Sinitic-language communities and cultures around the world. Through fostering communication across the humanities and social sciences, we encourage the development of new conceptual frameworks and methods that enable, on the one hand, the visibility of marginalized subjects and, on the other, the synergy with fields as diverse as (but not limited to) postcolonial studies, migration studies, ethnic studies, media studies, gender & queer studies, science studies, indigenous studies, and area studies. Membership in 3S is open to anyone with an interest in Sinophone studies and any regional, disciplinary, and topical expertise.
Society of Sinophone Studies Introductory Guide
Society of Sinophone Studies Anti-Racism Solidarity Statement
Society of Sinophone Studies Solidarity with Palestine Statement