Jiayi Tian
Job Title
PhD Student
Research interests
Research interests
Within cultural sociology and the sociology of the arts, my PhD research investigates the performance of creativity by self-taught artists in post-socialist China. My other concluded research projects include an investigation of the discourse of "entertainers' morality" (yide) in modern China (University of Cambridge, 2022) and the transition of artistic identity (Cultural Sociology, 2025). I am also interested in art market research and the history and de-colonialisation of the sociology of the arts.
I am currently member of the ASA, BSA, and The International Visual Sociology Association (IVSA). I serve as the PGR Representative at the Sociology of the Arts Study Group of the BSA and organised two PGR Forum Regional Events in this capacity in 2024 and 2025 in succession.
I occasionally write essays and exhibition reviews on popular magazines, translate academic articles, and do public lecturing. I also worked as an intern at several art institutions and programmes in China, such as the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) and the OCT Contemporary Art Terminal (OCAT), among others.
Background
Qualifications
M.Phil. in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Chinese Studies), University of Cambridge (Girton College)
LL.B. in Sociology, Peking University
B.A. in Theory and History of Art, Peking University
Academic Outputs
Peer-reviewed articles
2025. “The Structure of the Chinese Market of the Arts: A Sociological Analysis” 中国艺术市场的结构：基于社会学视角的分析. Sociological Review of China 社会学评论 13(5): 5–32. Access: http://src.ruc.edu.cn/CN/Y2025/V13/I5/5.
2025. “Shifting Artistic Identity on Canvas: From ‘Painter-Worker’ to ‘Painter-Artist’ in a Commercial Painting Community.” Cultural Sociology 19(2): 229–50. (Published online on 21 September 2023.) https://doi.org/10.1177/17499755231191572.
2024. “Meaning Consciousness in the Sociology of the Arts” 艺术社会学中的意义感. PKU Journal of Sociology 北大社會學刊 4: 253–75. Access: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/hrjo5EE0fdQ3iu1inqvlnQ.
Book reviews
2025. “A Sociology of Creativity from Canadian Art and Design Universities” (Book Review: The New Spirit of Creativity: Work, Compromise, and the Art and Design University, by Saara Liinamaa). Symbolic Interaction. https://doi.org/10.1002/symb.70021.
2024. Book review: Passionate Work: Choreographing a Dance Career, by Ruth Horowitz. Cultural Sociology 19(3): 426–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/17499755241272912.
2024. Book review: Anonymous: The Performance of Hidden Identities, by Thomas DeGloma. European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology 11(4): 650–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/23254823.2024.2336761.
2024. “Making Race Visible Through Cosmetic Surgery” (Book Review: Refashioning Race: How Global Cosmetic Surgery Crafts New Beauty Standards, by Alka V. Menon). Symbolic Interaction 48(3): 496–98. https://doi.org/10.1002/symb.698.
2023. “Market of the Time: The Origin of Modern Art Exchange and Its Global Expansion—Review of From Manet to Manhattan.” 时代的市场：现代艺术交易的源起及其全球扩张——评《从马奈到曼哈顿》. Shanghai Hong Kong Joint Publishing Ltd. Academic Review 三联学术通讯, 5 September 2023. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/OMKY_MyB3BKqrIA13aGTwg.
Translations (English to Chinese)
(Forthcoming, trans.). “The ‘New Sociology of Art’: Putting Art Back into Social Science Approaches to the Arts.” Eduardo de la Fuente. Cultural Sociology 1(3): 409–25. 2007. In: Reader of the Sociology of Art (provisional), edited by Wenchao Lu. Nanjing: Yilin Press.
(Forthcoming, trans.). “The Artwork Made Me Do It: Introduction to the New Sociology of Art.” Eduardo de la Fuente. Thesis Eleven 103(1): 3–9. 2010. In: Reader of the Sociology of Art (provisional), edited by Wenchao Lu. Nanjing: Yilin Press.
(Forthcoming, trans.). “Art at the Crossroads: The Arts in Society and the Sociology of Art.” Victoria D. Alexander and Anne E. Bowler. Poetics 43: 1–19. 2014. In: Reader of the Sociology of Art (provisional), edited by Wenchao Lu. Nanjing: Yilin Press.