Department of History,
School of History, Religions and Philosophies
& College of Humanities
Flavia Fang
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Key information
Key information
- Roles
- Department of History School of History, Religions and Philosophies College of Humanities Research Associate
- Department
- Department of History, School of History, Religions and Philosophies & College of Humanities
- Email address
- ff13@soas.ac.uk
Biography
Flavia Xi Fang (方希) is a social and cultural historian of medieval China and the Silk Roads, with a particular interest in how people in the past experienced the world through their bodies and senses.
Her current project focuses on the history of smell in medieval China, examining how beliefs and perceptions around certain scents shaped daily life, marked social boundaries, and contributed to the formation of ethnic and religious identities. Beyond smell, she is also exploring how people in medieval China understood and handled mortal remains, as well as how scripts and writing shaped identity and connection across the medieval world.
After studying in China and Italy, Flavia completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge in 2023 as a Benefactors’ Scholar from St John’s College. While at Cambridge, she also held a Ho Peng Yoke Research Fellowship at the Needham Research Institute and Robinson College, and taught as a departmental lecturer. She is currently a Past and Present Fellow at the IHR and Research Associate at SOAS University of London.
Research interests
- Medieval China
- Sensory Studies
- Buddhism and Religions
- Dunhuang and Silk Road
- History of Science and Medicine
