Shih-Yang Kao

Graduate Student
BA 1999 (Economics) National Taiwan University; MUP 2004 (Urban Planning) Harvard University
Research interests: Political Economy of Development, Cities, Economic Geography, Material Culture
Regional focus: East Asia, particularly Taiwan and China

Picture of Shih-Yang Kao

I am studying Beijing's junk - their compositions as well as their movements between multiple urban spaces. Even though stinky, they tell me fascinating stories about consumers and their lifestyles in export-oriented economies, the dark sides of land commodification under post-socialism, as well as Beijing's changing social geography.

Participatory observation and in-depth interviews are the corner stones of my research. For me, the life experiences of normal working people are far more real and informing than statistic data or the words of experts.

Personal interests

Back in my home country, which is Taiwan, I have always loved to soak myself in outdoor hot-springs in deep winter nights. Here in the Bay Area, I like to take the F line bus from Berkeley to San Francisco and get myself stunned by the city skyline on the Bay Bridge. In addition to these two, I like jogging, Asian foods, backpacking, Wii, suspense movies/novels, badminton, blogging, and NOT going to Safeway for my grocery.

Contact information

shiyangkao@berkeley.edu

Courses

Graduate Student Instructor:

GEO 110 (Fall 2007) Economic Geography of the Industrial World