CV
Jack Fong
Academic
Degrees
2006 PhD - Sociology. University of California, Santa Cruz
2004 MA - Sociology. University of California, Santa Cruz
1997 MA - Sociology. San Jose State University
1992 BA - Communications with a minor in English. California State
Polytechnic University, Pomona
Selected Publications
Fong, Jack. 2024. “Employing Lyn Lofland’s and Ray Oldenburg’s Urban Sociology to ‘Read’ the Emptying of Los Angeles’ Publics.” Pp. 245-271 in Reconfiguring Global Societies in the Pre-vaccination Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic, edited by Jack Fong. University of Toronto Press. (May 2024 Release)
Fong, Jack, ed. 2024. Reconfiguring Global Societies in the Pre-vaccination Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic. University of Toronto Press. (May 2024 Release)
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.
Fong, Jack. 2022. “Dynamics and Themes of Fourth World Advocacies and Activisms. [Review of the book Indigenous Identity, Human Rights, and the Environment in Myanmar, by Jonathan Liljeblad]. Asian Journal of Law and Society, 1-3. doi:10.1017/als.2022.25
Fong, Jack. 2020. “Death Cafes.” World Religions and Spirituality Project. April 14. [Website Publication] https://wrldrels.org/2020/04/12/death-cafes/
Fong, Jack. 2020. Employing Nietzsche’s Sociological Imagination: How to Understand Totalitarian Democracy. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
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.
Fong, Jack. 2019. “A Mourning a Late King through Portraiture: Articulations of the Sacred in the Profane in the Primate City of Bangkok.” Journal of Asian and African Studies 54(2):229-247.
Fong, Jack. 2017. The Death Café: Exploring the Horizons of Mortality. London: Palgrave MacMillan.
Fong, Jack. 2017. “Sentiments and Perspectives of Academics about Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).” Journal of Excellence in College Teaching 28(1):49-76.
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.
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.
Fong, Jack. 2014. “The Role of Solitude in Transcending Social Crises: New Possibilities for Existential Sociology” in A Handbook of Solitude: Psychological Perspectives on Social Isolation, Social Withdrawal, and Being Alone, edited by Robert Copland and Julie Bowker (Eds). Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell.
Fong, Jack. 2012. "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.
Fong, Jack. 2012: “The Politics of Burmese Indigeneity: Karen Transcommunalism as Revolutionary and Development Force” in Indigeneity: Collected Essays, edited by John Brown Childs and Guillermo Delgado. Santa Cruz, CA: New Pacific Press.
Fong, Jack. 2011: “Methodological and Positional Considerations of Crisis Field Research: The Karen Struggle against the Military Regimes of Burma.” Pp. 55-74 in Reflections: Research Beyond Borders, edited by Lise-Helene Smith and Anjana Narayan. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Fong, Jack. 2009. “Sacred Nationalism: The Thai Monarchy and Primordial Nation Construction,” Journal of Contemporary Asia 39 (4):673-696.
Fong, Jack. 2008. Revolution as Development: the Karen Self Determination Struggle against Ethnocracy (1949 to 2004). Boca Raton, FL: BrownWalker Press.
Fong, Jack. 2008. “American Social ‘Reminders’ of Citizenship after September 11, 2001: Nativisms and the Retractability of American Identity.” Qualitative Sociology Review 4(1):69-91.
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.
Fong, Jack C., Eric L. Lang, Elizabeth A. McKean, National Organization on Disability (U.S.), and Lou Harris and Associates. 2001. 1994 NOD Survey of Americans with Disabilities. Los Altos, CA: Sociometrics.
Fong, Jack C., Eric L. Lang, Elizabeth A. McKean, National Organization on Disability (U.S.), and Lou Harris and Associates. 2001. 1994 NOD Survey of Public Attitudes Toward People with Disabilities. Los Altos, CA: Sociometrics.
Fong, Jack C., Eric L. Lang, Elizabeth A. McKean, International Center for the Disabled, and Lou Harris and Associates. 2001. 1986 ICD Survey: Employing Disabled Americans. Los Altos, CA: Sociometrics.
Media and Conferencing Involvement
January 2024 Presented to the Class 53 of the California Agricultural Leadership Program on the topic of solitude; presentation titled: “The Value of Social Connections Regarding Loneliness and Solitude.”
December 2023 Referenced in Vogue France by Irene
Coltrinari in article titled “La silent walk est ce qu’il y a
de plus efficace et de moins cher pour se sentir bien au quotidien” (The silent
walk is the most effective and least expensive way to feel good every day).
See: https://www.vogue.fr/article/marche-silencieuse-bien-etre
July 2023 Interviewed in the Independent by
Francesca Specter in article titled “Solitude used to mean sad singledom. Now
it’s become a status symbol.” See:
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/solitude-women-loneliness-self-care-b2371234.html#comments-area
June 2023 Referenced in Transformations Care Network in
article titled “Broken Heart? Or Something More…” See: https://www.transformationsnetwork.com/post/broken-heart-or-something-more
May 2023 Referenced in My Haven Time in article
titled “The most important relationship you will ever have” by Anonymous. See: https://www.myhaventime.com/post/the-most-important-relationship-you-will-ever-have
March 2023 Referenced in Theos’ “Ashes to Ashes:
Beliefs, Trends, and Practices in Dying, Death, and the Afterlife” by Marianne
Rozario and Lia Shimada. See: https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/cmsfiles/Ashes-to-Ashes---Beliefs-Trends-and-Practices-in-Dying-Death-and-the-Afterlife.pdf
February 2023 Referenced in the Redwood Bark in article
titled “Flying Solo, Peace in Solitude,” by Charlotte Fishburne. See: https://redwoodbark.org/78133/opinion/flying-solo-peace-in-solitude/
December 2022 Interviewed in Atlantic by Faith Hill in
article titled “Take Yourself on a Date.” See: https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/12/seeing-movies-alone-solo-date-in-public/672363/
September 2022 Referenced in Christianity in article
titled “The Queens’ Passing is a Reminder that Death is Inevitable. But as
Christians, We Know It's Not the End,” by Chine McDonald. See: https://www.premierchristianity.com/opinion/the-queens-passing-is-a-reminder-that-death-is-inevitable-but-as-christians-we-know-its-not-the-end/13832.article
July 2022 Referenced in Katherine Chestnut: Mindfulness
& Meditation in article titled “Relishing in the Freedom of Solitude”: https://katharinechestnut.com/freedom-of-solitude/
July 2022 Referenced in the Express Tribune in
article titled “Solitude: A Key to Solace,” by Ali Hassan Bangwar. See: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2365442/solitude-a-key-to-solace
February 2022 Referenced in Rice Media in article titled "This is How it Feels to Be Lonely in Singapore": https://www.ricemedia.co/this-is-loneliness-in-singapore/
February 2022 Referenced in the Quinnipiac Chronicle in
article titled “Me, Myself and Solitude,” by David Matos. See: https://quchronicle.com/75714/arts-and-life/me-myself-and-solitude/
September 2021 Interviewed in FingerLakes1.Com in article titled “New
York is 5th Most Diverse in U.S., but Parts of Upstate Struggle
with Diversity.” See: https://www.fingerlakes1.com/2021/09/21/new-york-is-5th-most-diverse-but-parts-of-upstate-struggle-with-diversity/
August 2021 Interviewed in the Boston Globe in
article titled “Dying for a Better Life: The Pandemic Year Has Taught Us that
Facing the Specter of Our Own Demise is the Best Way to Live,” by Julie
Zigoris. See: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/08/01/opinion/dying-better-life/
July 2021 Referenced in mattnorman.com in article
titled “What’s Most Important? And Two Other Crucial Questions to Ask Yourself
Every Morning,” by Matt Norman. See: https://www.mattnorman.com/whats-most-important-and-two-other-crucial-questions-to-ask-yourself-every-morning/
May 2021 Cited in Philippe Campos Pessotti’s Isolated
Architecture: Finding Solidarity in Isolation. See: https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/8f839248-2d29-4cc3-aac6-4e8877d21b75/content
May 2021 Referenced in Kris Verlé: Online Life Coach
in article titled “Solitude – 3 Surprising Ways For Shutting Everyone Up,” by
Kris Verlé. See: https://krisverle.com/blog/solitude-3-surprising-ways-for-shutting-everyone-up
February 2021 Referenced in Economia Creativa in
article titled “The Virtues of Solitude,” by Justyna Molendowska-Ruiz. See: https://economiacreativa.wordpress.com/2021/02/28/the-virtues-of-solitude/
February 2021 Cited in The Perspective in article
titled “The Crown and the Army: Thailand’s Struggle for Democracy,” by Gian
Luca Traverso. See: https://www.theperspective.se/2021/04/02/article/the-crown-and-the-army-thailands-struggle-for-democracy/
February 2021 Interviewed in Vox in article titled “How
to Make This Winter Not Totally Suck, According to Psychologists,” by Sigal
Samuel. See: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/10/14/21508422/winter-dread-covid-19-pandemic-happiness-psychology
January 2021 Referenced in Original Newsbreak in
article titled “The Value of Solitude: Why We Should Learn To Be More
Comfortable Being Alone,” by Dayana Sabatin. See: https://original.newsbreak.com/@dayana-sabatin-561282/2141749293588-the-value-of-solitude-why-we-should-learn-to-be-more-comfortable-being-alone
January 2021 Referenced in Compulsive Outdoors in
article titled, “Camping—Pleasure or Pain? The 10 Benefits of Camping.” See: https://compulsiveoutdoors.com/benefits-of-camping/#comments
December 2020 Interviewed in Vox in article titled “How
to Be Alone,” by Sigal Samuel. See: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/4/11/21212845/how-to-be-alone-coronavirus-quarantine-isolation-solitude
October 2020 Referenced in Advisory Board in article
titled “Are You Dreading Winter? These 3 Strategies Can Help, Psychologists
Say.” See: https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2020/10/26/small-self
September 2020 Interviewed on Apple Podcast Good is in the
Details, hosted by Gwendolyn Dolske and Rudy Salo. Title: “What is Existential
Sociology.” See: https://goodisinthedetails.libsyn.com/what-is-existential-sociology
August 2020 Cited in Theos’ article titled “Death,
Dying and the Afterlife in the UK,” by Wendy Appenteng Daniels. See: https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/research/2022/08/08/death-project
July 2020 Referenced in the Hour in article titled
“How Entrepreneurs Can Find Clarity in Uncertain Times,” by Aytekin Tank. See: https://www.thehour.com/business/article/How-Entrepreneurs-Can-Find-Clarity-in-Uncertain-15415787.php
July 2020 Interviewed in the Telegraph in article
titled “Why Solo Camping is the Perfect Post-Lockdown Treat,” by Jessica
Salter. See: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/life/solo-camping-perfect-tonic-cooped-family-long/
June 2020 Referenced in Light CO2 in article titled
“Camping to Connect,” by Gabriel Nagel. See: https://www.lightco2.org/articles/camping-to-connect
June 2020 Referenced by the Workplace Mental Health
Institute in article titled “Social Isolation: How the Coronavirus is
Impacting Workers Worldwide.” See: https://www.wmhi.com.au/mental-health/social-isolation-how-the-coronavirus-is-impacting-workers-worldwide/
May 2020 Interviewed on CBS SundayMorning
for show titled “Adapting to Living in Isolation.” See:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/adapting-to-living-in-isolation/
May 2020 Referenced in the Medium in article
titled “What They Mean During a Pandemic,” by Tryn Brown. See: https://byrslf.co/the-elements-of-isolation-and-what-they-mean-during-a-pandemic-25aa02566058
April 2020 Referenced in A Small World in article
titled “Life Lessons from the Lockdown,” by Punita Malhotra. See: https://www.asmallworld.com/explorer/articles/life-lessons-from-lockdown
April 2020 Referenced in GulferUlas.Wordpress.com in article titled
“Art of Doing Nothing” by Gulfer Ulas. See:https://gulferulas.wordpress.com/2020/04/18/art-of-doing-nothing/
April 2020 Interviewed for Vox on issues related to
social distancing related to the pandemic:
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/4/11/21212845/how-to-be-alone-coronavirus-quarantine-isolation-solitude
April 2020 Invited to contribute essay on history of the
Death Café movement by the World Religions and Spirituality Project: https://wrldrels.org/2020/04/12/death-cafes/
March 2019 Referenced in Kacey Finch in article titled “The
Sacredness of Alone Time,” by Kacey Finch. See: https://kaceyfinch.wixsite.com/justinkace/post/the-sacredness-of-alone-time
January 2019 Interviewed in Elle Magazine regarding
the benefits of solitude:
https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/elle-voices/a25858339/solo-travelling-the-art-of-enjoying-your-own-company/
January 2019 Interviewed in Real Simple Magazine
regarding benefits of solitude:
https://www.discountmags.com/magazine/real-simple-february-2019-digital-m/in-this-issue/5c4574264138e
January 2019 Referenced in The Ubiquity (Quartz Hill
High School) regarding benefits of solitude: https://qhhsubiquity.com/3853/opinion/the-value-of-solitude/
December 2018 Referenced in Mindful in article titled "Finding Strength in Healthy Doses of Solitude": https://www.mindful.org/finding-strength-in-healthy-doses-of-solitude/
July 2018 Referenced in Nemo regarding benefits of solitude: https://www.nemoequipment.com/solitude-or-sidekick-hiking-alone-vs-hiking-with-friends/
March 2018 Presented at Pacific Sociological Association
(PSA). Title of talk: “Existential Sociology.”
February 2018 Referenced by Kelsey Blackwell in Made In Nature regarding
benefits of solitude: https://www.madeinnature.com/blogs/snack-life/spending-time-alone-is-actually-good-for-you-here-s-the-proof
January 2018 Referenced by Orge Castellano in Medium Philosophy
regarding benefits of solitude:https://medium.com/@orge/the-virtue-of-solitude-is-being-alone-the-new-therapy-8f373e11661a
October 2017 Referenced in The Student Life (Claremont Colleges)
regarding benefits of solitude: https://tsl.news/opinions6990/
October 2017 Referenced in Yale News by Keera Annamaneni regarding
benefits of solitude:https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2017/10/04/annamaneni-one-hundred-moments-of-solitude/
September 2017 Referenced in The Brown Daily Herald (Brown University) regarding
benefits of solitude:http://www.browndailyherald.com/2017/09/14/importance-time-oneself/
August 2017 Referenced in Brian Collinson’s webpage
(registered psychotherapist and Jungian Analyst)
https://www.briancollinson.ca/index.php/2017/08/solitude-vs-loneliness-in-the-second-half-of-life.html
August 2017 Referenced in Psychology
Today’s “Overcoming the fears of Solitude: 10 Thoughts.” https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/love-and-gratitude/201708/overcoming-the-fear-solitude-10-thoughts
July 2017 Referenced in Seely
Marketing Communications regarding benefits of solitude: https://seelymarketing.com/2017/07/26/got-a-problem-schedule-quiet-time-by-yourself-today/
July 2017 Interviewed by the UK’s Big Issue Magazine on solitude and mental health:
https://www.bigissue.com/news/walking-can-improve-learning-memory-possibly-delay-alzheimers/
April 2017 Referenced in Affinity Magazine regarding benefits of solitude:
http://affinitymagazine.us/2017/04/03/3-reasons-why-it-is-good-for-you-to-spend-time-alone/
March 2017 Interviewed in the Atlantic in article titled “The Virtues of Isolation,” by Brent
Crane. See:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/03/the-virtues-of-isolation/521100/
November 2016 California Sociological Association (CSA):
Presented on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in the CSA’s Sociology of
Education panel; talk titled “Sentiments and Perspectives of Academics about
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).”
October 2016 California State University Teaching Symposium:
Poster presented findings from my research on Massive Open Online Courses
(MOOCs).
September 2016 Interviewed by Fauzeya Rahman for the San Antonio Express-News: https://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2016/sep/23/sylvester-turner/sylvester-turner-calls-houston-nations-most-divers/
August 2016 19th Annual California State
University Teaching and Learning Symposium (at San Jose State
University): “Academic Sentiments and Perspectives about Massive Open Online
Courses
(MOOCs).”
March 2016 Interviewed about Death Café movement in California Health Report. See link at: http://www.calhealthreport.org/2016/03/28/the-death-cafe-step-right-in/
December 2014 Presented at Provost’s Symposium on Faculty
Scholarship talk titled: “A Qualitative and Comparative Analysis of Noise
Pollution in Bangkok and Los Angeles.”
November 2014 CSA: “Employing
Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action to ‘Read’ the Global Death Café
Movement.”
May 2014 Interviewed by Dr. Maria Armoudian on KPFK’s Scholars’ Circle regarding coup in
Thailand in 2014. Interview heard at: http://www.armoudian.com/the-scholars-circle-radio-may-25th-2014/
April 2014 KTLA Channel 5 news coverage by Lu Parker of my data collection
for the Death Café research.https://finance.yahoo.com/video/called-death-cafes-help-grieving-055023362.html
March 2014 Pacific Sociological Association (PSA): (1)
“Sentiments and Symbolisms Regarding Massive Open Online Courses”; (2) “Crisis
and Solitude in Kurt Wolff’s Surrender and Catch Methodology.”
November 2013 CSA: “The Role of Solitude in
Transcending Social Crises: New Possibilities for Existential Sociology.”
April 2013 Presented poster at Cal-Poly’s Stories of Successful Learning titled: “Employing Jurgen Habermas' Theory of Communicative Action to
Identify Potential Student Co-Authors.”
January 2013 Indigeneity Conference at UC Santa Cruz to
promote book chapter and book
Indigeneity: Collected Essays (2012) Santa Cruz: New Pacific Press.
November 2012 Panel moderator and discussant at Ahimsa
Conference’s “Sustainable Happiness” (11/02 – 11/04).
April 2012 National Social Science Association (NSSA):
Presented Paper: “Solitude and the Existential Self as a Source of Insightful
Social Narratives about Society.”
March 2012 PSA: Discussant for Panel on Dennis Loo’s Globalization and the Demolition of Society
(2011); presented talk titled “Memories and Reflections of Atavisms: The
Potential Ethnocratic Retraction of American Identity from Chinese Americans?”;
presented talk titled “The Primacy City as National Capital: Atavistic
Political Vulnerabilities of Bangkok, Thailand.”
November 2011 CSA: Presented Paper: “Memories and Reflections
of Atavisms: The Potential Ethnocratic Retraction of American Identity from
Chinese Americans?”
October 2011 Interviewed for “Report: Asian-Americans Grow
Beyond Coastal Hubs.” San Gabriel Valley
Tribune.
April 2011 NSSA presentation with Kevin Nunez titled
“Disneyland: Still a World of Strangers” (Las Vegas, NV).
March 2011 PSA roundtable presentation with co-author and
student Kevin Nunez titled “Disneyland: Still a World of Strangers” (Seattle,
WA).
November 2010 Interviewed by the Czech Republic’s Pravda newspaper regarding the release
of Burma’s democracy activist, Aung San Suu Kyi.
April 2010 Interviewed on KPFK’s 4 O’clock Thursdays (90.7) with USC’s Daniel Lynch on the decaying
political situation in Bangkok, Thailand.
September 2008 Referenced by Burma: Online News and Analysis regarding Saffron Revolution.
http://burmanewsandarticles.blogspot.com/2008/09/saffron-revolution-bloodstained-line.html?m=0
September 2008 Presented on two panels at the International
Sociological Association in Barcelona Spain. (1) “From Bangkok’s Tripartite
Politics to a Dualistic Struggle between Military and Civilian Politics in the
post-Rama IX Era”; (2) “Ethnodevelopment: Responding to Multicultural States in
Crisis.”
August 2008 Interviewed for the Slovak Republic’s Pravda newspaper (August 8 issue)
regarding the 20th anniversary of the democracy movement in Burma.
July 2008 Presented the core themes of my book at Los
Angeles’ progressive KPFK channel (90.7). Appeared on 4 O’clock Thursdays show with Maria Armoudian.
May 2008 Interviewed by the Czech Republic’s Pravda newspaper (May 27 issue)
regarding the staying power of the current military regime of Burma.
April 2008 PSA: Portland, Oregon. Title: “The Distances of
Being: Globalization and the Existentialization of Identities.”
February 2008 Presented to the Class 38 of the California
Agricultural Leadership Program on the topic of ethnopolitics and social
movements; presentation titled: “New Considerations for ‘Reading’
the Ethnopolitics of Multiculturalism and Diversity.”
January 2008 Interviewed by Dr. John Ackerman for Mexico’s weekly, ProcessoNovember 9, 2008 40-41.
September 2007 Interviewed by Tracy Young of Time Warner Cable,
Local Edition, on protests in Burma.