UMass Boston

Race, nationalism, hybridity, museums, settler societies, archaeology, Mesoamerica, United States, Hawai`i, China and Sub-Saharan Africa

PhD, Harvard University

Christopher Fung teaches Anthropology, Asian American Studies and Asian Studies at UMass Boston.

A fourth generation Chinese New Zealander, his academic interests include the ancient and modern cultures of China, Mesoamerica, Sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, Hawai`i, and the United States (especially the African-American experience).

His topical focus includes race, gender, indigenous, national and community identities, diaspora cultures, archaeology, socio-cultural anthropology, museums, and material and expressive culture.

He is currently working on a research project examining cultural and racial hybridity among members of the West African dance and drum community in Boston/Cambridge.

Chris has taught previously at Harvard University, The University of Auckland, The University of Hawai'i at Manoa, and Tufts University.  Immediately prior to coming to UMass he was Associate Professor of Anthropology, and Chair for the Anthropology Program at Hawai'i Pacific University in Honolulu.

He has studied percussion for 18 years with Nurudafina Pili Abena, Jah Amen Mobley, Fode Oulare, Reggae McGowan, Mabiba Baegne, and Moussa “Pico” Bangoura among others. He was a founding member, performer, and educator with Badenyaa African Diaspora Dance Theater, a multi-racial teaching and performing collective based on O'ahu.