Graduate Students

Vanessa’s research centers around the political and literary publications that circulated in Japan and Korea in the first half of the twentieth century.  In particular she is interested in the construction of national identity, the definition of the new woman, the alliances formed between Japanese and Koreans in literary and political endeavors, and the role of literature and visual art to engender social revolution.

Monica's dissertation project focuses on the topic of madness in post-Korean War to contemporary literature. Her research centers on madness not only as a literary trope for a reflection on and solution for larger socio-political concerns, but also as a way of questioning the possibility of existence outside the existing system. In particular, Monica emphasizes the critical inquiry on the framework of madness from philosophical, psychiatric, and social traditions. Monica's areas of specialty are modern Korean literature and history, ecocriticism, feminist theory, gender and sexuality studies, and medical humanities.

Zach Gottesman is interested in Korean popular culture, new media forms, and transnational culture flows in Japan and South Korea. He studies online and offline communities in order to understand how today's participatory media reflects contemporary South Korea and the larger world system.

Kristina’s research addresses the formation and transformation of Korean identity after the Korean War through representations of the ‘Other’ in South Korean cultural media—including film, literature, and television. Kristina’s research interests also include gender and sexuality studies, trauma studies, and modern Korean history.

Soojin's research interests are communication studies, Asian-American studies, literary studies and gender studies in Korea and Japan.

Adam's research centers on gender and sexuality in contemporary Korean literature and film. He is particularly interested in exploring constructions and representations of masculinity in the post-democratization period through the present day. His research interests also include speculative fiction, poetry, and critical theory.

Sara is interested in modern Japanese literature, particularly the biographical novels of Setouchi Jakucho on the new women of Japan in the early twentieth century. She is also interested in Japanese Buddhism, shamanism, and new religions.

Adam's main interest is contemporary Japanese literature and film, especially within the context of Japan’s postcolonial relations. He is currently exploring narratives dealing with the disruption of Okinawan culture and society by Japanese and American forces. Adam is also interested in humor theory, the connection between aesthetics and politics, Kyōgen plays, anime, and other popular Japanese art forms.

Sophie's research interests are travel photography, ethnography, food studies, environmental politics, and multimedia storytelling.

Vanessa is interested in the social changes reflected in modern fiction from various Chinese communities, the literary connections and distinctions between Hong Kong and China, and the city’s position in the context of greater China.

Xiaoyang's research interests are Japanese literature and cinema and film studies.