Profile portrait

Cultural Studies / Anthropology

Welcome to Ray Zhu's Personal Portfolio!

01

About

I am a student researcher interested in anthropology, cultural studies, and contemporary belief systems.

My work explores how meaning is reconstructed in post-religious societies through digital culture, media, ritual, and subcultural participation.

Through independent video essays, anime analysis, podcasts, and community projects, I examine how people negotiate identity, trauma, belonging, and symbolic order in increasingly secular and algorithmic environments.

Research Interests

  • Internet rituals and meme culture
  • Secularization and symbolic systems
  • Anime and posthuman identity
  • Collective trauma and digital belonging
  • Subcultures as alternative meaning systems

Methodologies

  • Digital ethnography
  • Media analysis
  • Semiotic interpretation
  • Participant observation
02

Research & Projects

Collective Trauma & Belief Video Project
01View →

Collective Trauma & Belief Video Project

Produced a five-episode independent video series exploring collective trauma, secularization, and identity reconstruction in post-belief societies.

ritualsymbolic orderpost-religious identitydigital meaning-making
Philosophy & Religion in Anime
02View →

Philosophy & Religion in Anime

Conducted independent humanities research analyzing religious and philosophical structures in anime and manga.

technologygenderalienationposthumanism
Case Studies: Serial Experiments Lain, Welcome Back, Alice
03View →

Podcast on Meme Culture & Existentialism

Produced a philosophy-focused podcast analyzing internet meme culture through semiotics and existential philosophy.

memes as secular symbolsinternet ritualsdigital identity
Referenced: Saussure, Heidegger
04View →

Subculture Study Club

Founded and led a student organization focused on sociology, anthropology, and cultural theory.

ritualbeliefinternet culturesubculturesidentity formation
05View →

New Media Internship

Interned with a psychology and youth-culture media team with over one million followers.

content researchhook designnarrative pacingaudience psychologydigital storytelling
04

Contact

Open to conversations about cultural studies, collaborative research, and academic opportunities.

Get in Touch
Built with v0