Biography

Leo is a PhD student at UCLA for Comparative Literature, originally trained in fine arts and philosophy, completing an additional master’s in Continental Philosophy, completing the dissertation A Philosophical Evaluation of Lenin’s “Conspectus of Hegel’s Book Science of Logic.” His background consisted of artistic practices of painting, abstract sculpture/installation, and performance art, while his philosophical background focused on Marxist theory & materialist dialectics, German Idealism, social ontology (with a thorough acquaintance with Althusser, Sartre, Adorno, and Hegel), and Analytic Philosophy foundations. Hence, he aims to refine and sharpen these lenses for the analysis of world literatures, peripheral histories, aesthetics, pop culture, and for his own novel theorizing (e.g., aphoristic theory or theory-fiction). Currently, he is most interested in questions such as: how change and time are made intelligible, the idea of scientificity, materialism as externality or alterity, philosophical fiction.

Education

• B.H.A (Bachelor of Humanities and Art Intercollege Degree), Philosophy and Art, Carnegie Mellon University (2021-2025)
• M.A., Continental Philosophy, University of Warwick (2025-2026)

Research

• From Hegel’s ‘Dialectic’ to Dialectical Materialism: the Heretical Dialectic of Marxism?
• Mao Zedong as Eastern Philosopher and Poet
• Towards a Theory of Asian-Amerikan Subjecthood
• Asian figures in the Black Radical Tradition (Yuri Kochiyama, Richard Aoki, Ho Chi Minh, I Wor Kuen, J. Sakai)
• Translation of Chinese Hegelian Philosopher Zhang Shiying (tbd)