Eric Gu

Hi, my name is Eric Gu. I am a PhD student in Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine. My work revolves around how people use political and religious practices latent in the fabric of everyday life to envision alternative social possiblities and build community. My previous research includes how people formulate conspiracy theories together on 8chan and how right-wing users with different religious identities debate and attempt to convert one another on Twitter.

My current dissertation project is on the concept of debate itself: its history within Western liberal thought, its transformations through social media platforms, its affinities with religious modes of engagement (conversion, testimony, charisma, and so on), and its role in both political communication and ethical self-making. Why do people engage in political debate beyond the stated goal of changing the minds of others? How does debate shape who they are and what they want to be, and what unexpected relationships and possibilities might emerge in pursuit of debate?

Trained in anthropological theory and ethnographic methods, I aim to take people from all walks of life seriously with the respect and attention they deserve, to understand what people believe and why, and build towards the conditions that would enable us to imagine better futures together. I also have experience working with big data, network science, and data visualization, and am interested in incorporating approaches from data science to enrich ethnographies that grapple with complex digital flows and transnational movements. I have a BS in Linguistics and Anthropology and a minor in Computer Science from Northeastern University. I also did a Masters in Social Science at the University of Chicago.

In my spare time, I enjoy cooking, foraging, playing TTRPGs, contributing to Wikipedia, and shape-note singing. Recently I have been getting into using invasive species for food and crafts. I am in the process of moving my non-academic writing about these topics into this webpage; more to come!