HKU Sociology

HKU Sociology Department of Sociology, The University of Hong Kong Department of Sociology, The University of Hong Kong.

A leading sociology department in Asia and the world, specialising in the research and teaching of cultural and media studies, anthropology, criminology, education, gender studies, economic sociology, Hong Kong, Chinese and Asian societies.

The Department of Sociology is pleased to announce the recipients of the inaugural 2025/2026 Sociology Teaching Awards. ...
08/09/2026

The Department of Sociology is pleased to announce the recipients of the inaugural 2025/2026 Sociology Teaching Awards. Established to recognize excellence in teaching and learning, the awards honour outstanding contributions by teaching staff in the Department.

๐‹๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž๐ซ ๐€๐ฐ๐š๐ซ๐
๐ƒ๐ซ. ๐‚๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง ๐“๐จ๐ง๐ 
Dr. Tong is recognized for her outstanding contributions to teaching and learning, including innovative curriculum development, engaging pedagogical practices, and dedicated mentorship of students. Through her commitment to high-quality teaching and student learning, she has made a significant contribution to the Department's educational mission and enriched the learning experiences of students across a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

๐“๐ž๐š๐œ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐€๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐ญ ๐€๐ฐ๐š๐ซ๐
๐Œ๐ฌ. ๐–๐จ๐ง๐  ๐‚๐ก๐ž๐ฎ๐ค ๐Š๐š ๐‚๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ๐ฅ๐ž
Ms. Wong is recognized for her student-centred approach to teaching, her ability to foster inclusive and engaging learning environments, and her dedication to supporting students' academic development. Her thoughtful facilitation of tutorials, commitment to constructive feedback, and exceptional care for student learning have earned high praise from both students and teaching staff.

The Department congratulates Dr. Tong and Ms. Wong on this well-deserved recognition and thanks all applicants for their commitment to teaching excellence and student learning. The high quality of submissions received this year reflects the Department's strong culture of teaching and learning excellence.

Prof. Tarani Chandola
Head of Department

https://sociology.hku.hk/news/97

๐‚๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐š๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ: ๐‡๐จ๐ง๐  ๐Š๐จ๐ง๐  ๐’๐จ๐œ๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ ๐€๐ฌ๐ฌ๐จ๐œ๐ข๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ•๐ญ๐ก ๐€๐ง๐ง๐ฎ๐š๐ฅ ๐‚๐จ๐ง๐Ÿ๐ž๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐œ๐žThe HKU Sociology Department is going to host ...
04/09/2026

๐‚๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐š๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ: ๐‡๐จ๐ง๐  ๐Š๐จ๐ง๐  ๐’๐จ๐œ๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ ๐€๐ฌ๐ฌ๐จ๐œ๐ข๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ•๐ญ๐ก ๐€๐ง๐ง๐ฎ๐š๐ฅ ๐‚๐จ๐ง๐Ÿ๐ž๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž

The HKU Sociology Department is going to host Hong Kong Sociological Association 27th Annual Conference on 5 December, 2026.

The conference theme is โ€œPower, Technology, and Agency in a Changing Worldโ€ and we welcome the submission of abstracts and papers related to this theme and more broadly in sociology. We are pleased to invite Professor Christian BORCH from University of Copenhagen and Professor Mike SAVAGE from The London School of Economics and Political Science to give keynote speeches. For further enquiries, please contact Ms. Betty NG via email ([email protected]).

Website: https://sociology.hku.hk/events/6d81b312-6d08-4ee4-8403-b8c347fe2378

๐๐ซ๐จ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ ๐“๐š๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ข ๐‚๐ก๐š๐ง๐๐จ๐ฅ๐š ๐‰๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ ๐ˆ๐‚๐€๐‚ ๐ข๐ง ๐‹๐š๐ฎ๐ง๐œ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐‹๐š๐ง๐๐ฆ๐š๐ซ๐ค ๐ˆ๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐€๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐’๐ญ๐š๐ง๐๐š๐ซ๐๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐†๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ง๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐’๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ฆ๐ฌ...
04/09/2026

๐๐ซ๐จ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ ๐“๐š๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ข ๐‚๐ก๐š๐ง๐๐จ๐ฅ๐š ๐‰๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ ๐ˆ๐‚๐€๐‚ ๐ข๐ง ๐‹๐š๐ฎ๐ง๐œ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐‹๐š๐ง๐๐ฆ๐š๐ซ๐ค ๐ˆ๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐€๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐’๐ญ๐š๐ง๐๐š๐ซ๐๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐†๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ง๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐’๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ฆ๐ฌ

Professor Tarani Chandola, Head of the Department of Sociology at the University of Hong Kong, officiated at the launching ceremony of the Independent Commission Against Corruption's (ICAC) new "Integrity Assurance Standards for Computer System" on September 2, 2026 . The ceremony was jointly presided over by ICAC Commissioner Mr Woo Ying-ming, Acting Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Ms Lillian Cheong Man-lei, Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy Mr Daniel Cheung Yee-wai, and Professor Chandola, underscoring the Department's role as a key partner in the initiative .

The Standards, developed in partnership with the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau (ITIB) and the Digital Policy Office (DPO), are designed to help all government bureaux and departments strengthen corruption prevention capabilities and integrity governance through digital technology. They set out 12 core control measures spanning three areas โ€” system security, workflow control, and anomaly detection โ€” including user identity verification, built-in conflict-of-interest declarations, approval workflows, audit trail logging, and anomaly alerts.

Notably, the ICAC press release confirms that the Department of Sociology at HKU, alongside the DPO, provided professional advice during the development of the Standards to ensure the framework is "pragmatic and practical". This reflects the sociological and criminological expertise within the Department โ€” including that of colleague Professor Isak Ladegaard, whose specialist knowledge informed the Standards' design โ€” being applied directly to strengthen anti-corruption governance in Hong Kong's digital public sector.

The event drew around 120 directorate officers and IT supervisors from more than 60 bureaux and departments, marking what ICAC described as "unprecedented support" for a corruption prevention initiative. Following the ceremony, the Hong Kong International Academy Against Corruption held a thematic seminar at which representatives from the Environmental Protection Department, the Census and Statistics Department, the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, and Tencent Group shared case studies and R&D solutions demonstrating how digital tools can plug corruption loopholes and meet the Standards' requirements.

Following the thematic seminar, officials from ICAC held a briefing with teachers from the Department of Sociology to discuss further development of collaboration between the two institutions. Discussions centred on deepening joint efforts in teaching (i.e. launching a new course SOCI8043 Contemporary Anti-Corruption in a Globalized World: The Hong Kong Experience), expanding collaborative research on integrity and anti-corruption governance, and co-hosting an international forum to bring together scholars and practitioners in the field. The briefing signals a continuing partnership between ICAC and HKU's Department of Sociology beyond the launch of the Integrity Assurance Standards, building on the expertise the Department has already contributed to strengthening Hong Kong's anti-corruption digital governance framework.

๐Ÿ”—Website: https://sociology.hku.hk/news/86

Funded by the D. H. Chen Foundation, a research team led by Professor Cheris Chan of the Department of Sociology at the ...
04/09/2026

Funded by the D. H. Chen Foundation, a research team led by Professor Cheris Chan of the Department of Sociology at the University of Hong Kong conducted a two-year ethnographic study entitled "Measuring the Wellbeing of the Elderly in Hong Kong" in 2024-2025. The study is part of the broader โ€œCompassionate Eldercareโ€ project initiated by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. It explores late-life wellbeing among Chinese older adults across diverse socioeconomic backgrounds in Hong Kong. Based on the lived experiences of 36 informants aged 65 and above, thematic analysis identified key elements shaping quality of life, going beyond rigid measures of aging to show how health, personal agency, and dignity are personally defined. On August 3, 2026, the Foundation hosted a sharing session with funders, local community organizations, and academic partners. Professor Chan presented the case studies highlighting key findings, followed by Professor Winnie Yip of Harvard University, who introduced a conceptual model for compassionate eldercare. Facilitated by Dicky Chow from Our Hong Kong Foundation, a fireside conversation was held among Professor Chan, Professor Yip, and frontline practitioners sharing direct insights and experiences from the field and discussing how to bring forward a more compassionate future for ageing in Hong Kong

๐Ÿ”—Website: https://sociology.hku.hk/news/85

๐’๐ก๐š๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ง '๐๐ซ๐ž๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐š ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐œ๐œ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐š๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐š๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐’๐จ๐œ๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฒ ๐Œ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ/๐๐ก๐ƒ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐š๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ'Preparing a Succe...
03/09/2026

๐’๐ก๐š๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ง '๐๐ซ๐ž๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐š ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐œ๐œ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐š๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐š๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐’๐จ๐œ๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฒ ๐Œ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ/๐๐ก๐ƒ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐š๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ'

Preparing a Successful Application for Admission to Sociology MPhil/PhD Programmes

Thursday, 17 September 2026, 3:00-4:00pm

Prof. Tom McDonald, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology
Prof Wang Peng, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology

Join us for an informative session on preparing a successful application for admission to research postgraduate degree programmes in the discipline of Sociology, designed to help prospective applicants navigate the entire admission process with confidence. During this event, experienced faculty will provide valuable insights on how to craft a compelling research proposal, effectively prepare for interviews, and understand what admissions committees look for when screening candidates. An interactive Q&A session will give you the opportunity to address your specific concerns and gain personalized advice, equipping you with the knowledge needed to enhance your chances of acceptance.

Activities include:
Overview of the application and interview process
Guidance on designing a strong research proposal
Insights into what screening committees look for
Tips for avoiding common application pitfalls
Interactive Q&A session with faculty

๐Ÿ“… Date: Thursday, 17 September 2026
๐Ÿ•‘ Time: 3:00pm โ€“ 4:00pm
๐Ÿ“ Venue: CJT-9.29
๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Language: English
๐Ÿ”—Website: https://sociology.hku.hk/events/38022a6e-078d-44e8-b33b-1fa690fc76e0

Hello everyone,Welcome back! I hope you had a relaxing summer and are ready for an exciting year ahead. Weโ€™re really loo...
02/09/2026

Hello everyone,

Welcome back! I hope you had a relaxing summer and are ready for an exciting year ahead. Weโ€™re really looking forward to 2026-27 and to welcoming some new facesโ€”please join me in giving a warm welcome to Youbin and Benjamin, our newest faculty members. We also had a great time sharing dim sum with our new Research Postgraduate studentsโ€”so glad to have you all on board!

A special welcome also to our taught masterโ€™s students in Criminology, MCCC, and Sociologyโ€”these are great programmes you have joined, and weโ€™re excited to see how your energy and ideas will help make the programmes this year even more vibrant and inspiring.

This year is also extra special because in 2027, weโ€™ll be celebrating 60 years of the departmentโ€™s journey. Stay tuned for some exciting anniversary events!

Itโ€™s been wonderful meeting so many new students and staff recently, and Iโ€™m confident this will be a dynamic and memorable year for everyone.

Enjoy your time with us at HKU Sociologyโ€”hereโ€™s to a fantastic year ahead!

Best,Prof. Tarani Chandola
Head, Department of Sociology

25/08/2026

Celebrating 40 years of Master of Social Sciences in the field of Criminology - Notable Alumni: Ms Anthea Lee Shuk-Wai, Chief Executive of SideBySide

๐‚๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ž๐ง๐ฃ๐š๐ฆ๐ข๐ง ๐‘๐จ๐ก๐ซ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐œ๐จ๐š๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ ๐‰๐จ๐ก๐ง ๐‹๐ž๐ฏ๐ข ๐Œ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ง ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐ž๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ” ๐‚๐ก๐š๐ซ๐ฅ๐ž๐ฌ ๐“๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ ๐€๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ฅ๐ž ๐€๐ฐ๐š...
20/08/2026

๐‚๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ž๐ง๐ฃ๐š๐ฆ๐ข๐ง ๐‘๐จ๐ก๐ซ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐œ๐จ๐š๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ ๐‰๐จ๐ก๐ง ๐‹๐ž๐ฏ๐ข ๐Œ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ง ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐ž๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ” ๐‚๐ก๐š๐ซ๐ฅ๐ž๐ฌ ๐“๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ ๐€๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ฅ๐ž ๐€๐ฐ๐š๐ซ๐

Congratulations to Benjamin Rohr and his coauthor John Levi Martin for receiving the 2026 Charles Tilly Best Article Award for their article โ€œThe State and the Emergence of the First American Party System: Roll Call Voting in the New York State Assembly during the Early Republicโ€. The award is given out every year by the American Sociological Associationโ€™s section on Comparative-Historical Sociology for the best article in the subfield. Drawing on a newly constructed dataset of roll-call votes and legislator characteristics from the New York State Assembly, the article shows that durable partisan coordination took shape at the state level earlier than existing accounts suggest, and did so before party consolidation at the national level. Rather than tracing party formation to ideological sorting or preexisting social cleavages, the article locates its origins in elite struggles over the resources generated by early state expansion, offering a new account of how state building and party building shaped one another in the early American republic.

๐Ÿ”—Website: https://sociology.hku.hk/news/83

07/08/2026

Celebrating 40 Years of the Master of Social Sciences in Criminology โ€“ Notable Alumni: Mr. Henry M. K. Wan, retired Assistant Commissioner of the CSD

๐ƒ๐ž๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐š๐ฅ ๐’๐ž๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐š๐ซ: ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐๐ฎ๐›๐ฅ๐ข๐œ ๐‡๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก ๐€๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐š๐œ๐ก ๐ญ๐จ ๐•๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐‘๐ž๐๐ฎ๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง: ๐’๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ, ๐Œ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐‡๐จ๐ฉ๐žIn recent years, the ...
24/07/2026

๐ƒ๐ž๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐š๐ฅ ๐’๐ž๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐š๐ซ: ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐๐ฎ๐›๐ฅ๐ข๐œ ๐‡๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก ๐€๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐š๐œ๐ก ๐ญ๐จ ๐•๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐‘๐ž๐๐ฎ๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง: ๐’๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ, ๐Œ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐‡๐จ๐ฉ๐ž

In recent years, the United Kingdom has seen the emergence of a new approach to violence reduction - the public health approach - which prioritizes early intervention and holistic support to prevent violence upstream. This movement of this approach is based in part on the success story of Scotland, and has led to the founding of more than twenty Violence Reduction Units in England and Wales and recently to Victoria, Australia. This talk presents the findings from a four-year, multi-method study of the public health approach to violence reduction in Scotland and England, involving 190 interviews with leading professionals working in violence reduction in the UK alongside young people, community activists and youth practitioners. The study sought to ask a simple question: what lessons can we learn from the past to inform the future? Although the question was simple the answers are more challenging. In a recent book, we argue for the need for a revolution in violence reduction - to build a new movement for change that connects the dots between policy and the street. In this talk, informed by Bourdieuโ€™s concept of โ€˜symbolic revolutionโ€™ and narrative criminology, I set out the four contexts in which policy change took place โ€“ crisis, charismatic leadership, reframing the debate, and legitimacy โ€“ to draw out the consequences for the movement of the policy elsewhere. As I will argue, while originating story is important, just as necessary are the political context in which the idea is received, and the lived experiences of communities affected by violence.

About the speaker:

Alistair Fraser is Professor of Criminology at the University of Glasgow, where he teaches and researches issues of youth violence, street culture, and urban crime, with a particular interest in the global gang phenomenon. He is the author or co-author of four books: Urban Legends: Gang Identity in the Post-Industrial City (OUP, 2015); Gangs & Crime: Critical Alternatives (2017, Sage); Preventing Violence (2025, BUP) and The Public Health Approach to Violence Reduction: Stories, Movements & Hope (OUP, 2026). He is a public criminologist, former BBC โ€˜New Generation Thinkerโ€™, and presents the popular podcast series โ€˜Young Warriorsโ€™.

๐Ÿ“… Date: Monday, 27 July, 2026
๐Ÿ•‘ Time: 2:30pm โ€“ 3:30pm
๐Ÿ“ Venue: CJT-9.29
๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Language: English
๐Ÿ”—https://sociology.hku.hk/events/62a837fa-2989-45eb-a3dc-7aab98783b30

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