Xiao Alvin Yang

Xiao Alvin Yang is a multidisciplinary scholar, musician, vegetarian, polyglot and multi-sited researcher. He holds a Dr. rer. pol. (Doctor of Economics and Social Sciences) from Universität Kassel, Germany. In March 2024, he successfully defended his PhD dissertation, The Evolution of Chinese IR Theories: Transnational and Transcultural Knowledge Innovation, Production and Diffusion. In the Lise Meitner Research Group "China in the Global System of Science" at the MPIWG, his research project examines the evolution of Chinese social sciences from a transnational and transcultural perspective. In particular, he tries to understand and explain the recent emergence and development of indigenous concepts and theories across a number of academic disciplines in China, including economics, political sciences, sociology, anthropology and area studies.

In the past years, Alvin has led and co-led various projects. He is the founder and director of Theoretical Debates on Asian Series with support from the York Centre for Asian Research and the International Center for Development and Decent Work. He led the Anti-Asian Racism During COVID-19 Project, which was jointly funded by the Canada-China Initiatives Fund and the Canadian Institutes of Health. In addition, he co-led the Democracy in the Time of COVID-19 project funded by the University of Toronto COVID-19 Student Engagement Award.

Recently, Alvin has co-edited a forthcoming book, Anti-Asian Racism during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada (tentative title) and a special issue, Transculturality of Anti-Asian Racism. He also co-organizes the Sociology of Knowledge Research Cluster and serves on the committee for the Best Student’s Paper Award of the cluster at the Canadian Sociological Association.

Learn more about Alvin and his research activities, public engagement, and publications on his website: https://www.xiaoalvinyang.com