Profile
Tongchen Hou is a Boya postdoctoral fellowship in School of Foreign Languages, Peking University. She completed her doctoral degree in South East Asian Studies, SOAS, University of London.
Educational Experience
2013-2017 Bachelor in Peking University, Burmese language and literature
2018-2019 Master in SOAS, University of London, Southeast Asian Studies
2021-2026 PhD in SOAS, University of London, Southeast Asian Studies
Work Experience
2019.11-2021.2 Traineeship and International Consultant in UNESCO Myanmar Project Office
2017.9 -2018.7 Assistant Lecturer in Tianjin Foreign Studies University
2026.3-present Boya postdoctoral fellowship in Peking University
Research Interests
Burmese cultural studies, Contemporary Burmese literature, Intercultural transmission, Southeast Asian women studies
Selected Publications
1. Hou, Tongchen. 2025. Writing modern burmese women: exploring the ‘third space’ in Kyi Aye’s novels. South East Asia Research. 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/0967828X.2025.2517550.
2. Hou, Tongchen. 2025. Wendy Law-Yone. The Literary Encyclopedia. https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=15526
3. Hou, Tongchen. 2024. Growth and Madness: The Image of the ‘Mad Woman’ in Kyi Aye’s Works: Taking the Novel “Love Lamp” as an Example, Journal of Oriental Literature Studies (东方文学集刊), Volume 14, Zhongxi Bookstore
4. Boonhok, Saranpat; Hou, Tongchen. 2025. (In-)Between Literature and the Nation: The Reimagination of Thailand and Myanmar Relations in Thai Historical Drama From Chao Phraya to Irrawaddy, The Journal of the Siam Society. 113(2), 87–108. retrieved from https://so06.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/pub_jss/article/view/290110
Research Projects
1. Eastern Literature and Civilizational Mutual Learning: A Comparative Study of Multilingual Illustrated Texts of Ancient Eastern Literature - Sub-project: A Comparative Study of Multilingual Illustrated Texts of the Two Great Epics and the Puranas
2. Eastern Literature and Civilizational Mutual Learning: A Study of the Modernization Process of Literature - A Study of the Modernization Process of Southeast Asian Literature
3. DNP Foundation for Cultural Promotion Research Grants: Ramayana in South and Southeast Asian Graphic Culture
Honors and Awards
2021-2025 China Scholarship Council International Regional Issues Research and Foreign Language High-level Talent Training Program Scholarship (48 months)
2019-2020 China Scholarship Council UNESCO Internship Program (12 months)
2015-2016 China Scholarship Council the Government Exchange Program (10 months)
2014-2015 Peking University Merit Student Award, Peking University May Fourth Scholarship, Peking University Academic Excellence Award
2013-2014 Peking University Social Work Award
Overseas Experience
2024.2-7 Organizer: 2024 SOAS Southeast Asian Studies Workshop Series
2024.8.3 4th International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies
· Presented Borders and Belonging in Wendy Law-Yone’s The Road to Wanting and Kyi Aye’s Longing
2024.7.23 13th EuroSEAS (European Association for Southeast Asian Studies) Conference
· Presented From Europe to Burma: Gender and Mobility in Kyi Aye’s Maung, Ko Ko and Myananda
2024.3.14-17 AAS (Association for Asian Studies) 2024 Annual Conference
· Presented Being Modern Women in Burma: Modernity, Beauty, and Sexuality in Kyi Aye’s Writings
2023.6.9- 6.11 15th International Burma Studies Conference: Envisioning Myanmar: Crisis, Change, Continuity
· Presented Burmese Women’s Agency in ‘Traditional’ Contexts
