Graduate Student in the MAPA program

Matriculated September 2025

Research Interests

 China, urbanization, environment & rurality, affect theory, sociolinguistics

About

Xuesong Liu is a graduate student in the MAPA program. He is interested in environmental knowledge and the urbanization taking place in northern China’s township-level regions. Particularly, in the context of Chinese townships, how does physical space influence and shape cultural memory, local knowledge, and the construction of a sense of place? In the rural and marginalized space, how built environment affects human perception? Xuesong hopes to take the vernacular landscape as an entry point to delve into the deeper dimensions of China’s rurality, grassroots dynamics, and regional culture. In doing so, he seeks to illuminate mundane life in the peripheral regions of China amid rapid urbanization. Before coming to Boston University, Xuesong completed his Bachelor of Design in Architecture at the University of Sydney.

Awards & Grants

  • forthcoming

Publications

  • forthcoming