Prof Hongwei Bao

Professor in Chinese Studies

Researcher profile

Phone

+44 (0)1334 46 2949

Email

hb270@st-andrews.ac.uk

Office

Room 303

Location

Buchanan

Office hours

Thursday 2-3, Friday 1-2

 

Biography

I joined the University of St Andrews in Summer 2026, after working at the University of Nottingham for 13 years. My eclectic research interests, as well as my interest in people, places and cultures, have led me to study and work in Australia, China, Germany and the UK. In my spare time, I write poetry and stage plays (and occasionally perform them). 

Research areas

I am a literary, film and cultural studies scholar whose research interests encompass the following areas: 

Contemporary Chinese literature and culture

Film, television and digital media in contemporray China

Theatre and performance in contemporary China

Gender and sexuality in contemporary China

Sinophone Visual Cultures

Identity and culture in the Chinese diaspora

China and/in the Global South

Translation and/for social change

Besides conducting conventional research, I am also a creative researcher, using creative forms such as poetry and theatre to express ideas and create social change. 

Selected publications

• Hot pot: a play

  Bao, H., 2026, Tunstall: Poetic Edge Publishers. 108 p.

  Research output: Book/Report › Book

• ‘Our goal is to preserve diversity’: An interview with Sebastian Liang, co-founder of the PTSD Collection

  Bao, H. & Bao, D., 1 Apr 2026, In: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art. 13, 1, p. 133-154 22 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review

• Cinematic fabulation: trans representation in Miss Jin Xing

  Bao, H., 15 Apr 2025, Chinese independent cinema: past, present, and a questionable future. Berry, C., Robinson, L., Wu, L. & Yu, S. Q. (eds.). Abingdon, Oxon: Taylor and Francis, p. 239-260 (Critical Asian cinemas).

  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

• Decolonizing drag: when queer Asian artists do drag

  Bao, H., 21 Aug 2025, Drag vistas and visions: drag in a changing scene volume 3. Edward, M. & Farrier, S. (eds.). 1st ed. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., Vol. 3. p. 13-24 (Methuen drama engage).

  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

• Entanglements and ambivalences: Africa and China encounters in media and culture

  Bao, H. (Editor) & Mutibwa, D. H., 18 Feb 2025, Abingdon, Oxon: Taylor and Francis. 268 p. (Transdisciplinary Souths)

  Research output: Book/Report › Book

• Open access

  Imagining a transnational Chinese queer literary studies: a conversation about Queer literature in the Sinosphere

  Bao, H., Indelicato, M. E. & Ma, Y. Z., 3 Oct 2025, In: Journal of Intercultural Studies. 46, 4, p. 728-733

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review

• Introduction: entangled histories and ambivalent feelings in Africa–China relations

  Bao, H. & Mutibwa, D. H., 18 Feb 2025, Entanglements and ambivalences: Africa and China encounters in media and culture. Bao, H. & Mutibwa, D. H. (eds.). Abingdon, Oxon: Taylor and Francis, p. 1-15 (Transdisciplinary Souths).

  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Foreword/postscript

• Mediating queer memory in Chinese digital video documentaries

  Bao, H., 29 Sept 2025, The digitalisation of memory practices in China: contesting the curating state. Mayer, M. & Schmitz, F. (eds.). Bristol: Bristol University Press, p. 82-98

  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

• Self-portrait as a banana

  Bao, H., 2025, Tunstall: Poetic Edge Publishers. 101 p.

  Research output: Book/Report › Book

• The queer Global South: transnational video activism between China and Africa

  Bao, H., 18 Feb 2025, Entanglements and ambivalences: Africa and China encounters in media and culture. Bao, H. & Mutibwa, D. H. (eds.). Abingdon, Oxon: Taylor and Francis, p. 235-259 (Transdisciplinary Souths).

  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

 

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