He is currently working on a book that explores race, sexuality, and symbolic economies in American literature. Addressing current debates over debt and neoliberal economic policies, the book examines the impact of money and economic relations in the work of writers such as Zora Neale Hurston, Louis Chu, Milton Murayama, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Chang-rae Lee. These works dramatize the complex ways in which minority communities have struggled to sustain social relations both within and against the destabilizing and disruptive effects of money. Professor Chiang has articles forthcoming on globalization in Jhumpa Lahiri and Yiyun Li's work, and cultural capital in Asian American literature. At UIC he has been involved in efforts to collect disaggregated data on students during the admissions process.