Dr. Rui Hou

I am currently an assistant professor in sociology at Saint Mary’s University. I hold a PhD degree in sociology from Queen’s University. My research and teaching interests locate on the social, cultural, and political impacts of new and emerging media and information technology. Empirically, I work in two domains: (1) My primary research stream focuses on how technological innovation shapes the exercise of authoritarian power and how individuals experience and respond to the growing digitalization of control; (2) Beyond purely theoretical critiques, my second research direction focuses on community-based interdisciplinary collaboration, aiming to address the challenges that innovations in social media technology and artificial intelligence pose to the well-being of marginalized and racialized communities. My research quality and productivity are evidenced by articles published in high-impact journals, including the New Media & Society, Governance, Surveillance & Society, Social Sciences & Medicine, The China Quarterly, China Information, and Ethnography.