Faculty
Yondenzang Akyung
Lecturer
East Asian Languages & Cultures
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Tibetan language and cultureAkbar Amat
Research Interests:
Uyghur language and culture
Christopher W. Anderson
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs
Anderson Chandler Professor
Finance
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Research Interests:
International finance
Michael Baskett
Associate Professor
Film & Media Studies
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Japanese film and media; East Asian film and media; film and media history; transnational film and media; post-colonial film and media
Raj Bhala
Brenneisen Distinguished Professor
SCHOOL OF LAW
Research Interests:
International trade regulation; Islamic law; Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement; China-US trade war; Indian trade law and policyMelissa H. Birch
Executive Director
INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AND GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT
Associate Professor
Management & Entrepreneurship
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Research Interests:
International business strategy in Latin America and East Asia; trade and regional integration; public sector management; microfinanceShawn Bitters
Professor
Visual Art
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Japanese papermaking and woodblock printing
J. Christopher Brown
Professor
Geography & Atmospheric Science
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Environmental issues in Mongolia; mining, grazing, and urban life in Ulaanbaatar
James J. Butler
Senior Scientist
Geology
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Experience in China, Korea, and Japan; well hydraulics; direct-push methods for hydrostratigraphic characterization; ground-water flow and transport in heterogeneous formations; stream-aquifer interactions; phreatophytes
Zongwu Cai
Charles Oswald Distinguished Professor
Economics
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Asian economies; econometrics; financial econometrics; quantitative finance and statistics
Francesco Carota
Assistant Professor
Architecture
SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
Research Interests:
Urban development, Chinese urbanization, Belt and Road Initiative
Yi-Yang Chen
Assistant Professor
Piano
SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Sunyoung Cheong
Assistant Professor
Visual Art
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Gender and domesticity in art and craft; Korean food as a cultural diplomacy in contemporary public art
Eun Ah Cho
Assistant Professor
East Asian Languages and Cultures
Research Interests:
Korean language and contemporary culture
Hyesun Cho
Associate Professor
Curriculum & Teaching
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION & HUMAN SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Critical literacy in the Korean language context; TESOL practicum in Korea
Kelly H Chong
Professor
Chairperson
Sociology
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Politics of gender and conversion in contemporary South Korean evangelicalism; race and ethnicity; international migration; Asian American studies; East Asian studies
Brad Cokelet
Associate Professor
Philosophy
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Buddhist ethics; classic Confucian ethical and political philosophy; cross-cultural psychological study of moral character
Misae Nishimura Daldorph
Lecturer
East Asian Languages & Cultures
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Japanese language and Japanese culture and society.
Alexander C. Diener
Professor
Geography & Atmospheric Science
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Central Asian states, Mongolia, and both Russian and Islamic borderlands; geopolitics and borders; human mobility and immobility; environment/social justice; diaspora/transnationalism; impact of urban landscape change on community, self, and personhood.
Changming Duan
Professor
Educational Pyschology
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION & HUMAN SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Relationship between culture and mental health; efficacy of psychological interventions; counselling in the Chinese cultural context
Kris Ercums
Curator
Global Contemporary & Asian Art
SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART
Research Interests:
Pan-Asian visual modernity; Asian contemporary artistic practice; postcolonial science fiction; Queer studies
Robert Fiorentino
Professor
Linguistics
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Language acquisition and processing; neurolinguistics; languages of research include Japanese, Chinese, and English
Sherry Fowler
Professer
Art History
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Japanese Buddhist art history especially sculpture, print, and bells
Alison Gabriele
Professor
Linguistics
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Second language acquisition and process; Japanese, Chinese, and English acquisition in adult learners
Linda Galvane
Assistant Professor
East Asian Languages & Cultures
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Japanese literature and culture with attention to the various spatio-temporal, disciplinary, and modal structures of classification
Noelle Giuffrida
Research Associate
Center for East Asian Studies
INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL & GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT
Research Interests:
Chinese art history; Daoist studies; history of collecting and museums
Ted Goebel
Professor
Chairperson
Anthropology
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Archeology, specifically Paleolithic origins of the First Americans in Northeast Asia including Japan, South Korea, and China. Archaeological work in North China and possibly in Tibet.
Patricia J. Graham
Research Associate
Center for East Asian Studies
INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL & GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT
Research Interests:
Japanese sencha tea ceremony; Buddhist Art; Chinese material culture in Japan
J. Megan Greene
Professor
History
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Modern China and East Asia; history of the Republic of China under the KMT both in China and on Taiwan; nation and state-building projects in the areas of science and the economy, academia, and ideology.
Jie Han
Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor
Civil, Environmental, & Architectural Engineering
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Research Interests:
Geotechnical engineering; geosynthetics; earth-retaining structures; pile foundations; roadways
John W. Head
Robert W. Wagstaff Distinguished Professor
SCHOOL OF LAW
Research Interests:
Dynastic Chinese law; comparative law; international commerce and investment; international economic law; comparative legal history
Jeff Holliday
Assistant Professor
Linguistics
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Second language acquisition including the acquisition of the Korean sound system and sociolinguistics
Thomas Huang
Associate Professor
Design
SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
Research Interests:
Asian materials; furniture-based sculptureMinjoo Hwangbo
Lecturer
East Asian Languages & Cultures
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Korean language and culture
Michiko Ito
Japanese Studies Librarian
East Asian Collection
KU LIBRARIES
Research Interests:
Japan-US relations; Japanese popular culture; anime; interlibrary loanJessie Zhuojun Jiang
Lecturer
East Asian Languages & Cultures
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Korean language, teacher socialization, and immersive language programs
Lei Jiang
Assistant Professor
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION & HUMAN SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Immigrant students and education; education systems and policies in East Asia; multilingual education
Sean Joo
Assistant Professor
Educational Psychology
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION & HUMAN SCIENCES
Research Interests:
International large-scale assessments and academic performance across East Asian and Western countries
Maki Kaneko
Associate Professor
Art History
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
20th-century and contemporary art; Japanese art history
Joonmo Kang
Assistant Professor
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WELFARE
Research Interests:
Korean social policy and political ecology; climate change; community-engaged research; environmental justice; ecosocial work; sustainable community development
John James Kennedy
Professor
Chairperson
Political Science
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Grassroots elections and voting in China; Chinese family planning; Chinese single child policy; rural education and health care; single-party regimes; cadre management system
Leigh Khandro
Lecturer
East Asian Languages & Cultures
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Tibetan language and culture
ChangHwan Kim
Professor
Sociology
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Korean studies; work and organization; race and ethnicity; quantitative methodology
Eungsik Kim
Associate Professor
Economics
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Macroeconomics; public economics; political economics; economic theory; financial economics (asset pricing)
Min-Young Kim
Assistant Professor
Curriculum & Teaching
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION & HUMAN SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Literacy education; teacher education; translanguaging practices of Korean immigrant teachers
Ji-Yeon Lee
Assistant Teaching Professor
Korean Language Coordinator
East Asian Languages & Cultures
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Korean as a foreign/heritage language; female Korean students in U.S. higher education
Jieun Lee
Visiting Assistant Professor
Linguistics
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Second language acquisition of Korean language; psycholinguistics; speech perception and production
Jun Ho Lee
Assistant Professor
Management & Entrepreneurship
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Research Interests:
Corporate governance in East Asia; institutional theory
Xingong Li
Professor
Geography & Atmospheric Science
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Mapping and analysis of water resources in East Asia; spatiotemporal analysis methods
Yan Li
Associate Professor
Chinese Language Coordinator
East Asian Languages & Cultures
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Chinese linguistics; second language acquisition; teaching Chinese as a foreign language; computer-assisted language learningWilliam R. Lindsey
Associate Professor
Religious Studies
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Religion in Japan; popular religious expressions and ritual in the Tokugawa period
Ahreum Maeng
Associate Professor
Management & Business Law
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Research Interests:
Social cognition and social perception; influences of social contexts on judgments and decisions; cross-cultural comparisons
David Mai
Assistant Teaching Professor
Film & Media Studies
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Affect theory; Horror studies; feminist film and critical race theory; Anime and Manga studies; multimedia education
Margarethe McDonald
Assistant Professor
Speech-Language-Hearing
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Infant language development and bilingual (Korean-English) child speech development.
Thomas McDonald
Assistant Professor
East Asian Languages & Cultures
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Japanese language, literature, and culture
Keith McMahon
Professor
East Asian Languages & Cultures
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Ming and Qing fiction; eroticism and the structure of sexuality in late imperial China; culture of opium smoking in 19th-century China and Euro-America; male and female character types in literature and history; history of imperial marriage in dynastic China
Amy McNair
Professor
Art History
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Material culture of the Tang dynasty; Chinese calligraphy; Chinese Buddhist sculpture
Utako Minai
Associate Professor
Linguistics
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
First language acquisition, including Japanese, Chinese, and English; developmental psycholinguistics; child language acquisition
Ayako Mizumura
Assistant Director
Academic Program and FLAS Coordinator
Center for East Asian Studies
KU INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Research Interests:
Sociology of Japan; Japanese culture; Interracial marriages and Asian military wives; globalization in East Asia
Yuka Naito Billen
Associate Teaching Professor
Japanese Language Coordinator
East Asian Languages & Cultures
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Japanese language pedagogy, acquisition, and processing; Japanese as a heritage language
Yoonmi Nam
Professor
Visual Art
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Visual and contemporary art; printmaking; Japanese woodblock printing; lithography
Bomin Paek
Assistant Professor
Health, Sport & Exercise Sciences
EDUCATION AND HUMAN SCIENCES
Director
Center for Sport Marketing Innovation
Research Interests:
Digital sport activities, cognitive and emotional factor analysis in Korean customers; gaming addiction prevention among Koran eSports participantsYue Pan
Lecturer
East Asian Languages & Cultures
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Chinese language; Chinese grammar and pedagogy
Silvia Park
Assistant Professor
English
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Asian/American science fiction; gender representation; Korean science fiction
Stephen Politzer-Ahles
Associate Teaching Professor
Linguistics
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Chinese linguistics; psychological processing of Chinese tone
Eric Rath
Professor
History
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Pre-modern Japanese culture; East Asian culinary heritage and dietary culture
Paul Scott
Professor
French, Francophone, and Italian Studies
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
French language and culture; South Korean science-fiction television shows; South Korean speculative fiction
Hyunjin Seo
Associate Dean for Research & Faculty Development
Oscar Stauffer Professor of Journalism
SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM & MASS COMMUNICATIONS
Research Interests:
Digital media; international communication; civil engagements; South Korean and East Asian media
Kapila Silva
Professor
Architecture
SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
Research Interests:
Social, cultural, and psychological aspects of architectural design and urban design; urban design and development policy in developing countries; urbanism and heritage conservation in East Asia and the Asia-Pacific region; visual culture in Buddhist and Asian societies
Kwangok Song
Assistant Professor
Curriculum & Teaching
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION & HUMAN SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Korean-as-a-heritage-language education for K-12 students; bilingual literacy practices in Korean immigrant communities; how Korean community members as heritage language teachers support immigrant children’s heritage language learning and contribute to community viability.
Yu Song
Assistant Professor
Health, Sport & Exercise Sciences
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION & HUMAN SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Biomechanics of Chinese traditional sportsMiwha Stevenson
Research Associate
Center for East Asian Studies
INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL & GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT
Research Interests:
Art and archeology of early northeast Asia
Maya Stiller
Associate Professor
Art History
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Korean history, literature, and religion; Korean art history
Akiko Takeyama
Professor
Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Director
Center for East Asian Studies
KU INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Research Interests:
Gender, sexuality and subjectivity; capitalism, class, and labor; cultural anthropology; feminist history; Japanese studies
Michael Taylor
Professor
Geology
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Tectonic development of the Himalayas and Tibet; active faults and earthquake geology
Ninel Valderrama Negrón
Assistant Professor
Spanish & Portuguese
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Historical connection between the Philippines and Latin America; trade, cultural, and social interactions between East Asia and Latin America.Crispin Williams
Associate Professor
Chairperson
East Asian Languages & Cultures
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Excavated and transmitted early Chinese texts; Chinese palaeography and historical phonology; early Chinese language and culture
Ketty Wong
Associate Professor
Musicology
SCHOOL OF MUSUC
Research Interests:
Ballroom dancing in China; identity and nationalism; Latin American and Ecuadorian art and popular music
Hui "Faye" Xiao
Professor
East Asian Languages & Cultures
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Modern and contemporary Chinese literature; Chinese cinema youth culture; Gender studies
Kyoim Yun
Associate Professor
East Asian Languages & Cultures
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Korean studies; anthropology and folklore; rituals and festivals; regional and national identity; Happiness studies
Cecilia Zhang
Chinese Studies Librarian
East Asian Collections
KU LIBRARIES
Research Interests:
Diversity and equality in East Asian library collections; digital archives; visual and pop culture in East Asia; contemporary social movements in East Asia; diversity and equality in East Asian library collections
Jiakun "Jack" Zhang
Assitant Professor
Political Science
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
International relations; international political economy; East Asian politics; Chinese foreign policy; U.S.-China Relations; trade wars
Jie Zhang
Professor
Linguistics
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Phonology and phonetics; psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic processing of tones in Chinese
Yan Bing Zhang
Professor
Communication Studies
LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES
Research Interests:
Cultural values and age stereotypes in China; advertising, media effects, and intergenerational communication in China
Yong Zhao
Courtesy Professor
Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION & HUMAN SCIENCES
Distinguished Professor
Educational Psychology
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION & HUMAN SERVICES