Becky Yang Hsu

Becky Yang Hsu is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Senior Fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University. She is also affiliated with the Asian Studies Program and the Graduate School's M.S. in Health and the Public Interest Program. Hsu directs a research group on Culture and Society as part of the Georgetown University Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues.

Hsu received her academic training at prestigious institutions:

• B.A. from Yale University (1997)
• M.A. from Princeton University (2004)
• Ph.D. from Princeton University (2011)

Hsu's research focuses on the social relationships people understand as natural and ordinary, with particular interest in moral understandings, social practices, and religion. Her work sits at the intersection of sociology of religion, institutions, and sociology of culture. She has conducted extensive research on happiness and mourning practices in China, examining how cultural contexts shape definitions of well-being and bereavement rituals. Her research is informed by her perspective as an immigrant in America, giving her unique insight into cultural assumptions.

Hsu's publications reveal a consistent focus on Chinese society, particularly examining how informal social ties function within specific cultural contexts. Her work bridges sociology, anthropology, and religious studies, with strong emphasis on qualitative methods. A notable pattern is her examination of how family structures influence community organization in China where government control limits formal associations.

Hsu has received recognition for her scholarly contributions:

• Faculty Article Award, Sociology of Development Section, American Sociological Association (honorable mention, 2014)
• Distinguished Article Award, Sociology of Religion Section, American Sociological Association (2004)

Hsu serves as a mentor to students, guiding senior thesis research in the Department of Sociology. She was principal investigator for a John Templeton Foundation funded project, "The Concept of Fu in Contemporary China" (2013-2016). Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, which highlighted videos from her fieldwork on global happiness concepts.

As a Senior Fellow at the Berkley Center, Hsu contributes to interdisciplinary research on religion, peace, and global issues. She is actively involved in the Georgetown University Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue, where she directs a research group on Culture and Society. Her current projects continue to explore the relationship between family, bereavement, and well-being in Chinese contexts.