California State Polytechnic UniversiTy, Pomona,Home of the Broncos

Jack Fong, Phd
The ruins of the Wat Phra Sri Sanphet complex at Ayutthaya (built 1448).
Sociologist

Political, Urban, & Existential

Welcome to my home page. My journey into sociology started in 1992 when I began my graduate studies, culminating with my arrival at my alma mater, Cal-Poly Pomona, in Fall 2007 to begin my tenure-track position. Although ethnically Chinese, I was born in Vientiane, Laos, and raised in Bangkok, Thailand, prior to our family's emigration from Thailand to the United States. I consider myself Thai-Chinese. Image: The large ruins of the Wat Phra Sri Sanphet complex at Ayutthaya (built 1448); (see also Sukhothai).

My sociological imaginations are shaped by the Frankfurt School, Max Weber, Edward A. Tiryakian, Kurt H. Wolff, Jürgen Habermas, Anthony Giddens, Zygmunt Bauman, Albert Memmi, Frantz Fanon, W. E. B. Dubois, the Los Angeles School, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jorge Luis Borges, Murray Schafer, Ray Oldenburg, Pridi Banomyong, Damrong Rajanubhab, Lu Xun, Luo Guanzhong, Michel Foucault, Jean Baudrillard, Bernard Crettaz, Simone de Beauvoir, my parents, my siblings, and the Buddha (as philosopher).

I do not have accounts in Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, etc. 
Selected

Publications

*Website publication; ** "Primate" rhymes with "climate"; *** Sociometrics Technical Reports
ORCiD:   https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0746-5010

2025

Fong, Jack. 2025. "The American Experience of Democracy Deserts During the Pandemic." Pp.99-125 in Getting Lost: Reflections on Psychopolitical Isolation and Withdrawal, edited by Matthew Bowker and Amy Buzby. Karnac Books. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.29126502.9

2025

Fong, Jack. 2025.  "Globalisation and Pandemic Management: Issues and Outcomes from COVID-19"  [Review of Globalisation and Pandemic Management, by Chris L. Peterson]. Contemporary Sociology 54(5): 441-444. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00943061251358679oo

2025

Fong, Jack. 2025. "The Sociality and Liminality of Bangkok's Cannabis Cafés." Qualitative Sociology Review 21(3): 6-28. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.21.3.01 

2024

Fong, Jack. 2024. "Employing Lyn Lofland’s and Ray Oldenburg’s Urban Sociology to 'Read' the Emptying of Los Angeles’ Publics." Pp. 245-272 in Reconfiguring Global Societies in the Pre-Vaccination Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic, edited by Jack Fong. University of Toronto Press.

2024

Fong, Jack. ed.  2024. Reconfiguring Global Societies in the Pre-Vaccination Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic. University of Toronto Press.   
The routinization of charisma in Thai nation construction: A Weberian reading of Thai royalism, nationalim, and democracy

2023

Fong, Jack. 2023. "The Routinization of Charisma in Thai Nation construction: A Weberian Reading of Thai Royalism, Nationalism and Democracy." Pp. 576-594 in The Routledge Handbook of Nationalism in East and Southeast Asia, edited by Zhouxiang Lu. Routledge. 
DOI:10.4324/9781003111450 
Dynamics and themes of Fourth World advocacies and activisms

2023

Fong, Jack. 2023. "Dynamics and Themes of Fourth World Advocacies and Activisms" [Review of  Indigenous Identity, Human Rights, and the Environment in Myanmar, by Jonathan Liljeblad]. Asian Journal of Law and Society 10(1): 152-155. DOI:10.1017/als.2022.25 
Death cafés

2020*

Fong, Jack. 2020, April 14. "Death cafés." World Religions and Spirituality Project. 

"WRSP is an international scholarly consortium that collaboratively assembles and disseminates information on alternative and emerging religious and spiritual groups around the world. WRSP also offers supporting teaching and learning resources for educational purposes."
A critical analysis of the symbiotic relationship between Sinophobia in online news and United States’ foreign policy on China

2019

Fong, Jack. 2019. "A Critical Analysis of the Symbiotic Relationship Between Sinophobia in Online News and United States’ Foreign Policy on China." ISA eSymposium (International Sociological Association) 9(1): 1-20.
Mourning a late king through portraiture: Articulations of the sacred and profane in the primate city of Bangkok

2019**

Fong, Jack. 2019. "Mourning a Late King Through Portraiture: Articulations of the Sacred and Profane in the Primate City of Bangkok." Journal of Asian and African Studies 54(2): 229-247.
DOI:10.1177/0021909618808649
The death café movement: Exploring the horizons of mortality

2017

Fong, Jack. 2017. "The Death Café Movement: Exploring the Horizons of Mortality." Palgrave Macmillan.
DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-54256-0
Sentiments and perspectives of academics about Massive Open Online Courses

2017

Fong, Jack. 2017. "Sentiments and Perspectives of Academics about Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)." Journal on Excellence in College Teaching 28(1): 49-76.
Making operative concepts from Murray Schafer's soundscapes typology: A qualitative and comparative analysis of noise pollution in Bangkok, Thailand and Los Angeles, California

2016

Fong, Jack. 2016. "Making Operative Concepts from Murray Schafer's Soundscapes Typology: A Qualitative and Comparative Analysis of Noise Pollution in Bangkok, Thailand and Los Angeles, California." Urban Studies 53(1): 173-192. 
DOI:10.1177/0042098014562333
The retractability of American identity from Chinese Americans: A function of geopolitical crises

2016

Fong, Jack. 2016. "The Retractability of American Identity from Chinese Americans: A Function of Geopolitical Crises." ISA eSymposium (International Sociological Association) 6(3): 1-13.
The role of solitude in transcending social crises: New possibilities for existential sociology

2014

Fong, Jack. 2014. "The Role of Solitude in Transcending Social Crises: New Possibilities for Existential Sociology." Pp. 499-516 in Solitude: Psychological Perspectives on Social Isolation, edited by Robert Coplan and Julie Bowker. Wiley-Blackwell Publishers.
DOI:10.1002/9781118427378
Political vulnerabilities of a primate city: The May 2010 Red Shirts uprising in Bangkok, Thailand

2013**

Fong, Jack. 2013.  "Political Vulnerabilities of a Primate City: The May 2010 Red Shirts Uprising in Bangkok, Thailand." Journal of Asian and African Studies 48(3): 332-347.  
DOI:10.1177/0021909612453981
The politics of Burmese indigeneity: Karen transcommunalism as revolutionary and development force

2012

Fong, Jack. 2012. "The Politics of Burmese Indigeneity: Karen Transcommunalism as Revolutionary and Development Force." Pp. 111-157 in Indigeneity: Collected Essays, edited by John Brown Childs and Guillermo Delgado. New Pacific Press.
Methodological and positional considerations of crisis field research: The Karen struggle against the military regimes of Burma

2011

Fong, Jack. 2011. "Methodological and Positional Considerations of Crisis Field Research: The Karen Struggle Against the Military Regimes of Burma." Pp. 55-74 in Research Beyond Borders, edited by Lise-Helene Smith and Anjana Narayan. Lexington Books.
Sacred nationalism: The Thai monarchy and primordial nation construction

2009

Fong, Jack. 2009. "Sacred Nationalism: The Thai Monarchy and Primordial Nation Construction." Journal of Contemporary Asia 39(4): 673-696.
DOI:10.1080/00472330903077030
American social

2008

Fong, Jack. 2008. "American Social 'Reminders' of Citizenship after September 11, 2001: Nativisms and the Ethnocratic Retractability of American identity." Qualitative Sociology Review 4(1): 69-91.
DOI:10.18778/1733-8077.4.1.04
Revising the ethnodevelopment model to address Karen Self-determination in the context of ethnocratic and military-ruled Burma

2008

Fong, Jack. 2008. "Revising the Ethnodevelopment Model to Address Karen Self-Determination in the Context of Ethnocratic and Military-Ruled Burma." Ethnic and Racial Studies 31(2): 327-357.
DOI:10.1080/01419870701495037
Revolution as development: The Karen self-determination struggle against ethnocracy (1949 to 2004)

2008

Fong, Jack. 2008. Revolution as Development: The Karen Self-Determination Struggle Against Ethnocracy (1949 to 2004). BrownWalker Press.

1997***

Fong, Jack, Eric Lang, and Elizabeth L. McKean. 1997. 1994 NOD Survey of American with Disabilities: A User's Guide to the Machine-Readable Files and Documentation. Los Altos, CA: Sociometrics.

1997***

Fong, Jack, Eric Lang, and Elizabeth L. McKean. 1997. 1994 NOD Survey of Public Attitudes toward People with Disabilities: A User's Guide to the Machine-Readable Files and Documentation. Los Altos, CA: Sociometrics.

1997***

Fong, Jack, Eric Lang, and Elizabeth L. McKean. 1997. 1986 ICD Survey of Disabled Americans: A User's Guide to the Machine-Readable Files and Documentation. Los Altos, CA: Sociometrics.

1997***

Fong, Jack, Eric Lang, and Elizabeth L. McKean. 1997. 1986 ICD Survey: Employing Disabled Americans: A User's Guide to the Machine-Readable Files and Documentation. Los Altos, CA: Sociometrics.