Cultural studies research was initially developed for advancing critical studies of popular culture in Hong Kong and across Asia. Early events include a symposium titled “East Asian Popular Culture: Looking Back, Looking Forward” as well as conferences such as “Post-Crash Irish Literature: Its Emergence and Influence” and “Surveillance, Form, Affect: An Interdisciplinary International Conference.”

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The pedagogical support for cultural studies comes from FHM’s Department of Literature and Cultural Studies, which saw the offering of key undergraduate courses such as Gender and Popular Culture, Introduction to Film Studies and Postcolonial Literatures in English. In these courses and seminars, students are exposed to postcolonial theories, fandom studies, media and cultural theories, and feminist theories. More recently, digital humanities and environmental humanities methods and practices have been adopted. 

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Through the organization of research workshops, salons, seminars, colloquia, symposia and conferences as well as providing support for individual research projects, IRCCS serves as a “Cultural R&D” platform for the promotion of research activities in Cultural Studies at the University.

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With ambitious research programmes in two areas - Critical Migration Studies and Comparative Cultures of Care - alongside our community-driven ‘One City One Book Hong Kong’ program - and members across the Humanities and Social Science faculties, IRCCS aims at producing cutting edge research in interdisciplinary Cultural Studies. Areas of research include qualitative cultural research (e.g. ethnography, inter-textual studies, diary/memory studies, etc.), visual and digital media studies, cultural and creative industry research, advancing cultural theory such as postcolonial and new materialist theories, critical cultural pedagogy, cultural identity studies, and so on. Since the Centre is located in EduHK, it will maintain a focus on the cultural studies of education.

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The Centre is administered by a Management Committee, which reports to the Faculty of Humanities and the Office of the Vice President (Research & Development). The Management Committee consists of faculty members of FHM and EdUHK. An Advisory Board will be formed, consisting of international experts in cultural studies. Besides, the IRCCS will establish close links with various cultural studies research centres around Hong Kong for collaboration and intellectual exchange.

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