{"id":33,"date":"2011-05-03T14:36:13","date_gmt":"2011-05-03T06:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alumni.localhost\/?page_id=33"},"modified":"2022-08-15T17:54:27","modified_gmt":"2022-08-15T09:54:27","slug":"features","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/features\/","title":{"rendered":"Features"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n14-04-2026<\/a>\n
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Navigating Trans-Asian Identities and Experiences among Gen-Z Scholars<\/a><\/h4>\n\nOn the Way: Living Between Places, Languages, and SelvesBy Fan YangI was born in Inner Mongolia and spent my early childhood there. Later, I moved to Tianjin, where I continued my education from junior high school through my undergraduate years. After graduating, I moved to Kyoto, Japan, to pursue ...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n31-03-2026<\/a>\n
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A Conversation with Ruyu: Challenges, Growth, and Reflections<\/a><\/h4>\n\nby Joshua Lee and Fan Yang\n\n\n\nJoshua: Congratulations on successfully passing your PhD defence! Could you share how you prepared for it?\n\n\n\nRuyu: I started by going back to my thesis, skimming it as a whole and then focusing on the introduction and conclusion, where the key arguments and overall st...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n11-03-2026<\/a>\n
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Hamlet at HKU: A Dialogue with Dr. Kristen Murray and Ms. Linda Wu<\/a><\/h4>\n\nby Joshua Lee and Fan Yang\n\n\n\nIn December 2025, the School of English successfully organized a live production of Hamlet\u200b\u200b by our students (MAES, MACC & MFA). Lasting 3 days and supported by a crew comprising 45 actors and 42 designers, the production was highly successful and well att...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n17-07-2025<\/a>\n
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Interview with Dr. Antony Huen<\/a><\/h4>\n\nWe\u2019re very lucky to have you as our new Director of the MFA programme in Creative Writing. Before joining the School, you\u2019ve also taught at many other institutions. How do you think the MFA programme stands out as a postgraduate course in Hong Kong, and what do you envision for its future?\n\n\n\nT...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n17-06-2025<\/a>\n
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Interview with Dr. Jasper Wu<\/a><\/h4>\n\nIt\u2019s so exciting to have you back in the School of English! You recently completed your PhD at the National University of Singapore. How was your experience there (and in Singapore) compared to the School of English?\n\n\n\nThe comparison, I would say, is more of a temporal instead of a spatial diffe...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n24-04-2025<\/a>\n
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Tails and Trails: A short story<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy Wang Yilian\n\n\n\nWang Yilian is currently a student in the MA in English Studies programme at The University of Hong Kong. She has always been passionate about literature, and during the Travel Writing and Culture course, she has been inspired to think more deeply about its various elements. Yilia...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n24-04-2025<\/a>\n
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Interview with Zeekin Zhou<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy Dr. Vincent Pak\n\n\n\nWhy did you choose the MAES programme for graduate school? How did your experience at the School of English compare to your expectations when you first started?\n\n\n\nMy undergraduate academic focus was language pedagogy and TESOL, but upon graduation, I realised that I lacked kn...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n03-05-2024<\/a>\n
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Interview with Qiaona Jiang<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy Ruyu Yan\n\n\n\nBetween Shanghai and Hong Kong, photo by Qiao Na\n\n\n\nQiaona Jiang is a second-year PhD candidate. Her research focuses on the gatekeeping requirements of mainland Chinese MBA admission interviews. Drawing on her previous experience as an MBA admission interview trainer in Shanghai, sh...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n03-05-2024<\/a>\n
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Interview with Dr. Otto Heim: Part Two<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy Khadija Azhar and Luisa Wan\n\n\n\nThis is part two of our interview with Dr. Otto Heim, the Director of the Master of Arts in English Studies programme at HKU. Previously, we discussed Dr. Heim\u2019s extensive academic career and his thoughts on teaching. As he spoke about the extensive reading that ...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n03-05-2024<\/a>\n
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The Third International Conference of MSIA: \u201cModernism between Past and Future\u201d<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\nBy Jisu Bang\n\n\n\nThe Modernist Studies in Asia Network (MSIA) is currently organizing its third international conference at HKU, scheduled to take place from May 1 to June 2. The primary objective of this conference is to support and advance the study of modernism in Asia. MSIA aims to provide a...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n04-03-2024<\/a>\n
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Interview with Dr. Otto Heim: Part One<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy Khadija Azhar and Luisa Wan\n\n\n\nThough we were well-aware of Dr. Otto Heim\u2019s reputation as a passionate educator, it was only when we worked with him as teaching assistants that we truly understood the depth of his commitment to the craft. In the past few semesters, we not only had literal fron...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n04-03-2024<\/a>\n
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The Year of Dragon<\/a><\/h4>\n\nDownload\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBy Jisu Bang\n\n\n\nHappy Lunar New Year! For those reading this, I wish you all the best for the Year of the Dragon. During this time of year, millions of people around the world get excited for one of the biggest annual festivals \u2013 the Lunar New Year. But how much do we actually kno...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n04-03-2024<\/a>\n
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Interview with Yufei Niu<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\nYufei Niu is a second-year PhD candidate who specializes in experimental phonetics. Her project focuses on the Mandarin tone acquisition of adult learners and the role of phonetic cues. She is particularly interested in the difference between second language learners and native speakers.\n\n\n\nHow...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n05-01-2024<\/a>\n
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Is the other a sign? A reading of Martin Buber<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\nby Ruyu Yan\n\n\n\nIn Martin Buber\u2019s way of thinking, the minimal unit to discuss human existence is two: One steps into being in one\u2019s relation to another. The presence of others is essential to our experience of the world. In one\u2019s awareness, the existence of other persons is accompani...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n05-01-2024<\/a>\n
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"We have all actually been tougher than we think"<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\nby Jisu Bang\n\n\n\nIt is that time, again, when we find ourselves approaching the end of the current year and eagerly anticipating the arrival of the next. Now is therefore an opportune moment for self-reflection and the setting of new goals and resolutions.\n\n\n\nThe story I want to tell takes us ba...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n05-01-2024<\/a>\n
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Interview with Rajesh Panhathodi<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\nRajesh Panhathodi is a soon-to-be MPhil graduate in the School of English. His research focuses on the depictions of transnational migration from India to the Middle East in cartoons\/comics. In his recently-submitted thesis, Rajesh explores the themes of transnationalism, identity, and the comp...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n01-11-2023<\/a>\n
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Mementoes of COEDA 2023 conference<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\nLast month, the Coalition of English Departments in Asia (COEDA) held its sixth annual conference at the University of Hong Kong. This intellectual collaboration brought together faculty members and graduate students from English departments of top universities in East Asia, including Seoul Nat...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n01-11-2023<\/a>\n
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Interview with Jisu Bang<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\nJisu Bang is a second-year MPhil candidate in the School of English, whose research interests lie in legal interpretation, the First Amendment, and the philosophy of rights. Jisu explores the textual ambiguity that arises from interpretations of legal terms. Currently, his project centers aroun...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n30-06-2023<\/a>\n
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Interview with Professor Christopher Hutton<\/a><\/h4>\n\nby Jisu Bang and Tingcong Lin\n\n\n\nCould you tell us about your area of research?\n\n\n\nI am currently working on the history of linguistics in relation to Aryan, and the impact of linguistics on India. Although I\u2019m not an India specialist, I think it\u2019s actually the most fascinating country in the w...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n30-06-2023<\/a>\n
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A Year in Graduate School<\/a><\/h4>\n\nby Shameera Nair Lin\n\n\n\nBefore starting my first year as an MPhil candidate, I made an active vow to myself, where I sought to document as many memories as possible. When I made such a promise, of course, I had no idea any of these photos would be seen by an audience beyond my Instagram and Twitter...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n30-06-2023<\/a>\n
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Presentations as performances, and beyond: A talk on applying to and presenting at conferences by Dr. Anjuli Gunaratne<\/a><\/h4>\n\nby Tingcong Lin\n\n\n\nThe School regularly organizes professionalization workshops, in which faculty members are invited to give talks on career-enhancement skills for postgraduate students. On May 10th, 2023, Dr. Anjuli Gunaratne was invited to give a talk on \u201cApplying to and presenting at conferen...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n08-05-2023<\/a>\n
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Interview with Felix Chow<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\nFelix Chow is a first-year MPhil candidate in the School of English, whose project is an attempt at negotiating contemporary Hong Kong poetics. Apart from his work as a graduate researcher, Felix is a prolific presence on the Hong Kong poetry scene, where he assists in co-organising the monthly...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n08-05-2023<\/a>\n
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A reflection on reflection; Or, a reflection on a reflection I did not end up writing<\/a><\/h4>\n\nReflections at Cloud Gate (aka the Bean) in Chicago\n\n\n\nby Luisa Wan\n\n\n\nAs I was scrambling to put together my paper for the 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Comparative Literature Association, I made a casual promise to my friend and the amazing editor of this magazine, Shameera Nair Lin, t...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n04-04-2023<\/a>\n
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Interview with Dr. Sinead Kwok<\/a><\/h4>\n\nDr. Sinead Kwok's office desk.Photo credit: Dr. Sinead Kwok\n\n\n\nby Jisu Bang and Tingcong Lin\n\n\n\nSinead Kwok is an early career researcher whose research interests lie in the philosophy of language and communication, the history of linguistics, semiology and semiotics, as well as translation. After ...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n04-04-2023<\/a>\n
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Crossing the Finishing Line<\/a><\/h4>\n\nPhoto credit: Shameera Nair Lin\n\n\n\nby Shameera Nair Lin\n\n\n\nThe story begins in the early nineties when my parents met at a hash run. A colonial-era tradition originating in Kuala Lumpur all the way back to the 1930s \u2013 which perhaps makes my current work as a postcolonial literary researcher even ...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n13-02-2023<\/a>\n
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School of English Postgraduate Seminar Session: An Interview with Emily Rose Nicholls and Ahsan Md Firoz Mahmud<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nby Tingcong Lin\n\n\n\nThe School of English research seminar series is a significant event for the School, an occasion when faculty and research postgraduate students gather to share and discuss their work, and sometimes to hear invited speakers (https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/event\/Seminar_Se...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n13-02-2023<\/a>\n
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A non-local\u2019s guide to HKU local hall culture<\/a><\/h4>\n\nPhoto credit: Jisu Bang\n\n\n\nby Jisu Bang\n\n\n\nFiery speech, loud and hearty chants, stringent seniority system, a-week-long orientation for first year students, excessive demands for hall activities contributions. These features of HKU hall life often seem to intimidate non-local students who \u201cresid...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n02-12-2022<\/a>\n
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The Rise of Korean Films<\/a><\/h4>\n\nPhoto: Jeremy Yap\/Unsplash\n\n\n\nby Jisu Bang \n\n\n\nIn the past few years, a dramatic shift has occurred in the global film industry. Instead of Hollywood movies, many notable Korean films have become what we might label \u2018mainstream\u2019. Consider Parasite, receiving four different awards at the 2019 Ac...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n02-12-2022<\/a>\n
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An Interview with Dr. Moonyoung Hong<\/a><\/h4>\n\nby Shameera Nair Lin & Tingcong Lin\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1.    Tell us more about your work at HKU. \n\n\n\nI\u2019m a full-time lecturer at HKU, so I\u2019m teaching four courses this year, including a capstone course (\u201cImaginary Geographies: The Art of Writing Place,\u201d \u201cImagining Asia,\u201d \u201cWorl...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n01-11-2022<\/a>\n
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Interview with Dr. David Edmonds<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\nby Jisu Bang\n\n\n\nDavid Edmonds is a sociolinguist, specializing in social interaction and interpersonal communication. He currently focuses on healthcare communication, with a special focus on interactions between doctors and patients in different medical settings. David obtained his PhD from CU...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n01-11-2022<\/a>\n
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Notes to self on self-care from a psychology PhD student<\/a><\/h4>\n\nPhoto by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash\n\n\n\nby Stephanie Ng\n\n\n\n\u201cYou must have the best self-care routine,\u201d my friend remarked upon learning that I was pursuing a PhD in the field of psychology.\n\n\n\nThis is a common assumption: the idea that our professions seamlessly translate into practical skills in ...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n09-09-2022<\/a>\n
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A Reflection on Cats, Community and a little more<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy Wan Lok Yee Luisa\n\n\n\nMeme-worthy brother-sister dynamic\n\n\n\nIn particularly stressful times, just encountering a shop cat in the neighbourhood is enough to make my day. For many, spotting shop cats, or snapping a picture of them doing something silly, has become a way to keep spirits up in Hong K...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n09-09-2022<\/a>\n
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Warriors of Future: Revamping the Hollywood of the Far East<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy Lok Hang Vincent Chu\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNearing the turn of the millennium, Hong Kong cinema saw an exodus of talent, one stream moving northwards to the Chinese market and another moving across the Pacific Ocean to Hollywood. It marked the end of three glorious decades when the local movie industry was kno...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n02-08-2022<\/a>\n
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Photo Essay - On Seeing and Being Seen<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy Khadija Azhar\n\n\n\nI don\u2019t enjoy being visible. The vulnerability in being seen, in taking up space among other people, feels unnerving. My friends think that\u2019s irrational, and I agree; strangers on the streets have places to be, and things to do. They\u2019re probably not looking at me.\n\n\n\nFunni...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n02-08-2022<\/a>\n
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As writers and artists, we have the ability to translate multiple perspectives: Interview with Sanaz Fotouhi<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy Khadija Azhar, Lok Hang Vincent Chu, and Rajesh Panhathodi\n\n\n\nSanaz Fotouhi was born in Iran soon after the revolution, during the Iran-Iraq war. Her father\u2019s job as a banker took her and her family to many countries before she landed in Australia. Sanaz holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master o...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n31-05-2022<\/a>\n
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Privileges Made Clear: A Reflection on Theatre Space During Lockdown<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy Lok Hang Vincent Chu\n\n\n\n\u2018All animals are equal but some\u2026\u2019 we know how that quote goes. Opportunities for theatre participation have never been equal in Hong Kong, but such privileges have been made clearer during lockdowns. Just as we have moved meetings and work online, theatre groups hav...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n31-05-2022<\/a>\n
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Interview with Dr. Jessica Valdez<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy Anneliese Ng and Tingcong Lin\n\n\n\nWe are happy to have the opportunity to talk with Dr. Jessica Valdez, about the Nineteenth-Century Research Cluster she established, her interest in interdisciplinary research, and her memorable experiences at the School of English, HKU.\n\n\n\nJessica founded the Ni...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n28-04-2022<\/a>\n
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Interview with Dr. Hanwool Choe<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy Khadija Azhar, Lok Hang Vincent Chu, and Rajesh Panhathodi\n\n\n\nHanwool Choe is a discourse analyst who focuses on digital discourse, multimodal interaction, food discourse, and life stories. She received her Ph.D. in Linguistics from Georgetown University in Washington D.C., U.S.A. in 2020. She w...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n31-03-2022<\/a>\n
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My Experience in the HKU Summer Research Programme<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy Tingcong Lin\n\n\n\nLast summer, I participated in the 2021 HKU Summer Research Programme and was awarded a conditional offer for the HKU Presidential PhD Scholarship at the end of it. I would like to share my experience for the Alumni Magazine.\n\n\n\nAfter selection and enrollment, the Programme provi...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n31-03-2022<\/a>\n
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Interview with Professor Adam Jaworski<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy Khadija Azhar, Lok Hang Vincent Chu, and Rajesh Panhathodi\n\n\n\nAdam Jaworski obtained his MA (1979), PhD (1985), and DPhil (1991) in English sociolinguistics from Adam Mickiewicz University, Pozna\u0144, where he taught as Assistant Professor until 1991. Between 1991\u20131992 he was Lecturer at the Dep...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n01-03-2022<\/a>\n
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Reflections on COVID-19 and mental health in Hong Kong<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy Khadija Azhar\n\n\n\nAt the tail-end of what has been a particularly long winter in Hong Kong, there is an uncomfortable silence hanging over the city. Yesterday, stepping out into the heart of Central, I almost felt accosted by the pervasive stillness, disturbed only by the spattering of raindrops ...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n01-03-2022<\/a>\n
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Interview with Jackie Militello<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy Anneliese Ng\n\n\n\n*The interview was conducted during the 20\/21 academic year\n\n\n\nFormerly a student of the HKU-KCL joint PhD programme, Jackie is now an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the School of English. Having passed her PhD with flying colours in the summer of 2020, Jackie is now teaching on ...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n27-01-2022<\/a>\n
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Review of Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy WU Tong\n\n\n\nSixteen years after his first science-fiction-like novel Never Let Me Go (2005) was published, Kazuo Ishiguro revisits the future to produce Klara and the Sun (2021). Many things have changed during those sixteen years; the bland monologue of his latest protagonist evokes a sense of f...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n27-01-2022<\/a>\n
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Interview with Dr. Claire Gullander-Drolet<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy Khadija Azhar, Lok Hang Vincent Chu, and Rajesh Panhathodi\n\n\n\nClaire Gullander-Drolet earned her PhD in English from Brown University in 2019 and was a visiting assistant professor at Clark University during the 2019-2020 academic year. Her writings have appeared in The Journal of Transnational ...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
<\/div>\n22-12-2021<\/a>\n
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Interview with Dr. Anjuli Gunaratne<\/a><\/h4>\n\nBy Khadija Azhar, Lok Hang Vincent Chu, and Rajesh Panhathodi\n\n\n\nAnjuli Gunaratne grew up in Colombo, Sri Lanka and received her Ph.D. in English and the Interdisciplinary Humanities at Princeton University. She has held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Hong Kong\u2019s Society of Fe...Click here<\/a> for more details.<\/b>\n
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* New features for the month.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

< Back<\/a> ><\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

* New features for the month.   < Back ><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28572,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/33"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/33\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46080,"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/33\/revisions\/46080"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.hku.hk\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}