About
Born in Sarawak, Malaysia to a large third-generation Chinese Malaysian family, I largely grew up in southern California and New York City, the occupied land of the Lenape people, which is where home is now. My research project is focused in Borneo, Malaysia, where I hang out with the shamanistic and animistic ("bobohizan"/"bobolian") apprentices of largely Catholic indigenous peoples (Kadazandusun, specifically) in Sabah. I am following the current revival of interest in traditional, animistic rituals, particularly to reconnect with the environment in the face of increasing climate disruption.
Theoretically, I'm interested in posthumanist/new materialism discourse as well as queer/trans theory as they converge on the physical body of the 'ritual specialist' who negotiates with spirits of nature and of ancestry (and, in the process, sometimes gender-switches). Historically, I'm curious about the impact of Christian conversion on a people's relationship to the environment, specifically the interactions between indigenous, animistic practices and Charismatic Christianity revivals in the 70s and 80s.
Before academia, I worked for a decade as a freelance writer and journalist. Always down to talk about weird religious stuff, queer stuff, and Southeast Asian stuff... and play sports!
