DPhil Migration Studies Student
St Antony's College
Research Interests: Anthropology of State, Money and Value, Economic Sociology, Blockchain, AI, Migration Studies, Fandom
Research:
Xiangyu’s DPhil research investigates the formation of emergent communities within contemporary conditions characterized by hypermobility, fragmented geographic territories, and pervasive digital connectedness. His work examines how individuals and collectives adopt and adapt to blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies, scrutinizing how participation in these socio-technical ecosystems fundamentally challenges conventional understandings of money, value, territoriality, and sovereignty.
The research employs a multi-disciplinary approach to analyze how these emergent communities simultaneously operate within, alongside, and beyond traditional state structures. By interrogating these socio-technical transformations and their attendant social practices, Xiangyu’s work contributes to scholarly discourse on potential future configurations of economic systems, citizenship models, and post-nation-state formulations of sovereignty.
Experience:
Xiangyu embarked on his career as a full-time documentary photographer and filmmaker in 2020, following six years in the natural resources industry where he served as both an engineer and managing director for a Zambia-based corporate firm.
His documentary projects examine how globalization and digitalization influence individuals' conceptions of personhood and collective identity. Xiangyu's work has gained international recognition, earning prestigious accolades including First Place in Issue Reporting Picture Story at Picture of the Year Asia and selection as one of the 100 Global Emerging Artists by the Prince Claus Foundation in 2022.
He currently maintains membership in the Oxford Blockchain Society.#
Education:
- MSc in Social Anthropology, London School of Economics and Political Science, 2024
- Documentary Photography and Photojournalism, Hannonver University of Applied Sciences and arts, 2021
- BA in Photography, Catalunya Institute of Photographic Studies, 2020
- BEng Chemical Mechanics, Zhejiang University, 2010
Email: xiangyulong@sant.ox.ac.uk
Website: https://www.xiangyulong.net/bio
