Xiaoshuo Hou

Associate Professor of Sociology and Asian Studies
Frances Young Tang ’61 Chair in Chinese Studies

Office:  Tisch Learning Center 229
Phone: (518) 580-5427
Email:  xhou@skidmore.edu
Curriculum Vita

EDUCATION

• Ph.D. in Sociology, Boston University, 2008
• B.A. in English (with a concentration on International Business Communication), Nanjing University, China, 2002

RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS

Development sociology, economic sociology, and the sociology of organizations with a particular focus on China and Asia

COURSES

• FYE: Eating and Being: Food, Culture, and Identity
• Sociological Perspectives
• Introduction to Asian Studies
• China in Transition
• Food and Society
• Economy and Society
  
  

BIOGRAPHY

In college, I was an English major with a concentration on international business communication for which I took a number of courses in economics and business. While I did well in those courses, grade-wise, I discovered that I was not particularly interested in studying the economy through the lens of economics (no offense to our exemplary colleagues in economics). Then I was exposed to the world of sociology right before I started to apply to graduate schools. I continued my journey in sociology as a PhD student at Boston University, and found my passion in studying the economy and development from sociological perspectives and using qualitative methods such as ethnography. My research focused on China’s experiences of development and an exploration of alternative models of development to the current neoliberal version of globalization. After receiving my PhD in Sociology from BU, I taught a year at UMass Amherst and six and a half years at St. Lawrence University where I discovered another passion of mine – teaching. At Skidmore, my passions in economic and development sociology and in teaching have continued to grow, and I hope to share these passions with students who are interested in learning about the social, economic, and political dynamics of development and globalization and about Asian societies.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Books