Ph.D.CandidateMonica'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.
Zachary Gottesman
Ph.D. CandidateZach 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.
Soojin Jeong
Ph.D. StudentSoojin's research interests are communication studies, Asian-American studies, literary studies and gender studies in Korea and Japan.
Adam Miller
Ph.D. StudentAdam'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 Newsome
Ph.D. CandidateSara is interested in the intersection of environmental and feminist activism with religion in modern Japanese literature, particularly the works of Setouchi Jakuchō and Ishimure Michiko.
Adam Reynolds
Ph.D. CandidateAdam'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, KyÅgen plays, anime, and other popular Japanese art forms.
Sophie Wheeler
Ph.D. StudentSophie's research interests are travel photography, ethnography, food studies, environmental politics, and multimedia storytelling.
Yee-Kwan (Vanessa) Wong
Ph.D. StudentVanessa 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 Yue
Ph.D. StudentXiaoyang's research interests are Japanese literature and cinema and film studies.
