(This site is a work in progress as I navigate WordPress..)
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Hamilton College, NY, USA.
Trained as a linguistic and cultural anthropologist, my research explores the intersection of language ideologies and cultural production across diverse sociocultural and mediated contexts. I conduct fieldwork in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, and the United States, drawing on ethnographic and discourse-centered approaches to examine how people navigate sociopolitical complexities through semiotic practice.
Much of my work focuses on Taiwan’s voiceover industry, where I examine the creative and ideological dimensions of peiyin (voice acting, dubbing) and the linguistic features of a specialized media register I term “Mandarin dubbing” (peiyin qiang). I also collaborate on projects that examine linguistic racism, intertextual creativity, and platformed forms of interaction in social media discourse.
More recently, I have developed a line of research on platformed desire and mediated intimacy, situating questions of sexuality within digital infrastructures and examining how desire, recognition, and relationality are shaped through platformed interaction. In addition, I have conducted ethnolinguistic fieldwork on Kalinga in Kalinga, Philippines; conversation-analytic research on language, identity, and “college culture” in the US; and an expanding line of inquiry into the discourse and materiality of “fun” in ACG (Anime, Comics, Games) cultures in East Asia.
Across these projects, I center naturally occurring conversation and ethnographic engagement as core methods, working with diverse participants—from voice actors and toy collectors to souvenir sellers, second-generation (im)migrant youth, college students, community elders, and digital publics—to understand how people mobilize semiotic resources to navigate sociopolitical tensions, construct subjecthood, and reimagine the terms of representation and play.
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Current Affiliation
Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
Hamilton College
Clinton, NY, USA
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Contact
Email: scchen[at]hamilton[dot]edu
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