Ruitong is a PhD candidate in sociology at Fudan University and a cultural sociologist whose research examines how societies construct and negotiate meaning, morality, and solidarity in the face of disruption and uncertainty. His broader research interests also include the material representation of memory and the legacy of the Durkheimian tradition in contemporary sociology. His dissertation, “Integrating Disaster in Routine: Earthquake Early Warning Systems, Contested Technology, and Moral Negotiation,” examines the construction of China’s national disaster-prevention infrastructure through the interaction and negotiation between state agencies and a local institution. It explores how a technological system comes to interpret earthquakes from disruptive natural events into objects of organized social intervention, and how this process involves competing understandings of technology, authority, and responsibility. (Visiting Assistant In Research - January 1 to December 31, 2025)
