Anthropology

Yifeng Troy Cai

yifeng_cai@brown.edu
Research Interests Digital anthropology, Medical anthropology, Queer theory, Urban sociality, Intimacy, Gender & sexuality
Ph.D. Dissertation Taming Desires: Precarious Intimacy and Queer Urban Sociality in Digital China

Biography

Areas of Interest

Yifeng Troy Cai is a PhD candidate in anthropology and an MPH candidate. Currently, he is writing up his dissertation based on three years of fieldwork in Shanghai, China, on urban gay men’s experiences of intimacy, kinship, and competition in an increasingly digitalized China. He is simultaneously conducting a project on social change under the impact of COVID-19 in China. Prior to Brown, he went to UPenn, UChicago, and Renmin University of China. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, Luce Foundation, among others.

Previous Degrees

  • B.A. in English from Renmin University of China (2014)
  • M.S. inEducation, Culture & Society from the University of Pennsylvania (2015)