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 Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, etc.
Selected

Publications

*Website publication; ** The word "primate" rhymes with "climate"; *** Sociometrics Technical Reports (Los Gatos, CA)

2024

Fong, J. (2024). Employing Lyn Lofland’s and Ray Oldenburg’s urban sociology to “read” the emptying of Los Angeles’ publics. In J. Fong (Ed.), Reconfiguring global societies in the pre-vaccination phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. University of Toronto Press.
(forthcoming) 

2024

Fong, J. (Ed.). (2024). Reconfiguring global societies in the pre-vaccination phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. University of Toronto Press. (forthcoming)   
The routinization of charisma in Thai nation construction: A Weberian reading of Thai royalism, nationalim, and democracy

2023

Fong, J. (2023). The routinization of charisma in Thai nation construction: A Weberian reading of Thai royalism, nationalism, and democracy. In Lu, Zhouxiang (Ed.),  The Routledge handbook of nationalism in East and Southeast Asia (pp. 576-594). Routledge. 
DOI:10.4324/9781003111450 
Dynamics and themes of Fourth World advocacies and activisms

2023

Fong, J. (2023). 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, 10(1), 152-155. DOI:10.1017/als.2022.25 
Death cafés

2020*

Fong, J. (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, J. (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, J. (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, J. (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, J. (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, J. (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, J. (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, J. (2014). The role of solitude in transcending social crises: New possibilities for existential sociology. In Coplan, R., & Bowker, J. (Eds.), Solitude: Psychological perspectives on social isolation (pp. 499-516). Wiley-Blackwell Publishers.
DOI:10.1002/9781118427378
Political vulnerabilities of a primate city: The May 2010 Red Shirts uprising in Bangkok, Thailand

2013**

Fong, J. (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, J. (2012). The politics of Burmese indigeneity: Karen transcommunalism as revolutionary and development force. In Childs, J. B., & Delgado, G. (Eds.), Indigeneity: Collected Essays (pp. 111-157). New Pacific Press.

Methodological and positional considerations of crisis field research: The Karen struggle against the military regimes of Burma

2011

Fong, J. (2011). Methodological and positional considerations of crisis field research: The Karen struggle against the military regimes of Burma. In Smith, L. & Narayan, A. (Eds.), Research Beyond Borders (pp. 55-74). Lexington Books.

Sacred nationalism: The Thai monarchy and primordial nation construction

2009

Fong, J. (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, J. (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, J. (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, J. (2008). Revolution as development: The Karen self-determination struggle against ethnocracy (1949 to 2004). BrownWalker Press.

1997***

Fong, J. , Lang, E. L., McKean, E. A. (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, J. , Lang, E. L., McKean, E. A.(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, J. , Lang, E. L., McKean, E. A.(1997). 1986 ICD survey of disabled Americans: A user's guide to the machine-readable files and documentation. Los Altos, CA: Sociometrics.

1997***

Fong, J. , Lang, E. L., McKean, E. A.(1997). 1986 ICD survey: Employing disabled Americans: A user's guide to the machine-readable files and documentation. Los Altos, CA: Sociometrics.