Benjamin Fong

A photo of a man (Ben Fong) in front of a bookshelf, smiling at the camera

Graduate Student in Comparative Literature
Teaching Assistant in Comparative Literature

he/him/his
824 Sproul Hall

Ben Ruilin Fong is a PhD student in Comparative Literature [Chinese, English] with emphases in STS and Critical Theory at UC Davis. He received his BA in East Asian Studies and English from Brandeis and his MSt in English Literature (1550-1700) from Oxford. His research interests broadly focus on Chinese language film, English language film, and media studies. He is currently researching how the transpacific co-production of Chinese language films has popularized a particular type of mass entertainment and how the popularity of Internet fiction anticipates the growth of Chinese language mass entertainment in the global marketplace.

Education and Degree(s)
  • PhD in Comparative Literature [Chinese, English]; Designated Emphasis in Critical Theory, Science and Technology Studies, UC Davis 2020-present [In progress]
  • MSt in English Literature (1550-1700), Oxford University (2019)
  • BA in English, East Asian Studies, Brandeis University (2018)
Honors and Awards
  • 2020-22 UC Davis Dean’s Distinguished Fellowship
  • 2020-22 Chancellors Graduate and Professional Student Advisory Board (CGPSA)
  • 2020-2022, Mentor, Mentor-Mentee Program (MMP) in Humanities, Arts, Cultural Studies, and Social Sciences
  • 2022 National Humanities Center Graduate Student Podcasting the Humanities Winter Institute
  • 2022 East Asian Studies Graduate Student Research Grant
  • 2022 Mellon Public Scholars Program, 'Home Style Cooking: The Davis Chinese Cookbook Collection', SF Chinatown
  • 2022-2023 Secretary, Graduate Student Association (GSA)
  • 2022-2023 Aggies Near and Far Program
  • 2022-2023 Global Education for All Fellow
Research Interests & Expertise
  • Chinese language film, English language film, wangluo xiaoshuo (Internet fiction), film production, media studies, co-productions, visual culture, book history, print culture, publishing history
Publications
  • 2022 斷簡殘編: Jin Shengtan’s 金聖嘆 Xixiangji《西廂記》editions, CU Boulder Asian Studies Graduate Assocation Conference, CU Boulder (virtual)
  • 2022 ‘Once Upon a Time Online: How literary form and transnational co-production influence Chinese language adaptations’, ACLA, Taipei (virtual)
  • 2022 ‘From Picture to Story: The lianhuanhua (连环画) genre as an adaptation network’, PAMLA, UCLA