About GIAHS Research by Dr. Veronica MAK, SAU-WA

This research project conducted by Sociology Department, Associate Professor Mak, Sau-wa of Hong Kong Shue Yan University is supported by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China under Grant UGC/FDS15/H06/21 [RGC Project Ref. No. UGC/FDS15/H06/21]

Welcome to my website on the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) in Qingyuan, China, and the Kunisaki Peninsula, Japan!

I am Veronica Mak, Sau-Wa, the Principal Investigator of a multi-site research project on the construction of agricultural heritage, supported by the
Hong Kong SAR Government (Ref. UGC/FDS15/H06/21).

I see myself principally as an anthropologist, but my work is often interdisciplinary, engaging with fields such as food studies, science and
technology studies, media, communication, and cultural studies. I am currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Hong
Kong Shue Yan University. My academic training is multidisciplinary; I began with a degree in Marketing (with a minor in Psychology) from The
Chinese University of Hong Kong, followed by a Master of Information Systems at the City University of Hong Kong, and both a Master of Arts and a PhD
from the Department of Anthropology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

I see myself principally as an anthropologist, but my work is often interdisciplinary, engaging with fields such as food studies, science and
technology studies, media, communication, and cultural studies. I am currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Hong
Kong Shue Yan University. My academic training is multidisciplinary; I began with a degree in Marketing (with a minor in Psychology) from The
Chinese University of Hong Kong, followed by a Master of Information Systems at the City University of Hong Kong, and both a Master of Arts and a PhD
from the Department of Anthropology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

For over a decade and a half, I have researched and written about the sociocultural dimensions of heritage, technology, and the environment; food politics, social movements, and citizenship; and agriculture, labor, and digital media in China, Japan, and Asia. I am the author of the book Milk Craze: Body, Science and Hope in China (University of Hawaii Press, 2021) and have published over 18 journal articles and book chapters on these topics. I am also interested in experimenting with innovative methods for social research.
I can be contacted by email at swmak@hksyu.edu and on Facebook (Veronica Mak). For more about my academic publications, please see my Google Scholar profile.

Journal Publication

Peer-Reviewed Journal Publication(s) Arising Directly From This Research Project

2023

Scientists and remaking heritage: the case of shiitake cultivation in a globally important agricultural heritage system in Japan

International Journal of Heritage Studies
2023

Scientists and remaking heritage: the case of shiitake cultivation in a globally important agricultural heritage system in Japan

International Journal of Heritage Studies

Seminars

Recognized International Conferences In Which Papers Related To This Research Project Were Delivered

2026

24 January
Rural Cosmopolitanism, Young Peasants and Sustainability of GIAHS.

Rural Cosmopolitanism

Keynote Speech presented in the Ehime Prefecture international symposium, Organized at the Yawatahama information centre

2025

1-4 june
Platformization of Agricultural Heritage, Young Peasants and Marketing of Global-asian Identities.

2025 AAS-in-Asia Conference

Organized by Association for Asian Studies (AAS) and Social Science Baha

2024

7 December
Platformization of Agricultural Heritage, Japanese Young Peasants and Marketing of Global-Asian Identities.

25th Annual Conference of the Hong Kong Sociological Association

Organized by Hong Kong Shue Yan University

2024

7-9 August
Digital Technology, New Peasants and the Future of GIAHS Cultural Conservation in China and Japan.

2024 East Asian GIAHS Conference

Organized by East Asia Researh Association for Agricultural Heritage Systems (ERAHS) and Gifu prefecture GIAHS “Ayu of the Nagara River System” Promotion Council

2023

2 December
'Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Transmitters? Not My Son’ – Shiitake farmers speak about experiences with heritagisation and their loss in rural China.

Hong Kong Sociology Association Annual Conference 2023

Organized by Chinese University of Hong Kong

2023

24-27 June
“Remembering Mr. Mushroom”: Documenting Charismatic Leadership in the Preservation of Agricultural Heritage in China Using the Actor-Network Theory.

2023 AAS-in-Asia Conference

Organized by Association for Asian Studies (AAS) and the Institute of Humanities Studies at Kyungpook National University

2023

6-8 June
From Farmers to Environmentalists – A Study of Transnational Actor-Networks in GIAHS and Identity Change.

2023 East Asian GIAHS Conference

Organized by East Asia Researh Association for Agricultural Heritage Systems (ERAHS)

Seminars

Recognized International Conferences In Which Papers Related To This Research Project Were Delivered

2026

24 January
Rural Cosmopolitanism, Young Peasants and Sustainability of GIAHS.

Rural Cosmopolitanism

2025

1-4 june
Platformization of Agricultural Heritage, Young Peasants and Marketing of Global-asian Identities.

2025 AAS-in-Asia Conference

2024

7 December
Platformization of Agricultural Heritage, Japanese Young Peasants and Marketing of Global-Asian Identities.

25th Annual Conference of the Hong Kong Sociological Association

2024

7-9 August
Digital Technology, New Peasants and the Future of GIAHS Cultural Conservation in China and Japan.

2024 East Asian GIAHS Conference

2023

2 December
'Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Transmitters? Not My Son’ – Shiitake farmers speak about experiences with heritagisation and their loss in rural China.

Hong Kong Sociology Association Annual Conference 2023

2023

24-27 June
“Remembering Mr. Mushroom”: Documenting Charismatic Leadership in the Preservation of Agricultural Heritage in China Using the Actor-Network Theory.

2023 AAS-in-Asia Conference

2023

6-8 June
From Farmers to Environmentalists – A Study of Transnational Actor-Networks in GIAHS and Identity Change.

2023 East Asian GIAHS Conference

Scroll to Top