LaGretia Copp

LaGretia Copp joined the Center for East Asian Studies as program assistant in January 2021. Prior to CEAS, she spent fifteen years teaching full time. She taught International Studies at Miami University of Ohio for seven years, focusing on the political and economic development of non-Western societies, and she taught a variety of world, military, and transnational history courses at Fort Hays State University for eight years. Her research interests focus on colonialism and comparative empires. Her last research project examined the British World War I colonial labor corps, including the Chinese Labour Corps, South African Native Labour Corps, and the Indian Labour Corps. She was privileged to share her work with Chinese scholars and students during a faculty exchange program at Lanzhou University. Outside of teaching, LaGretia worked to promote student professional development and to expand student cultural experiences. At Miami University, she worked closely with students training to teach English abroad. At Fort Hays State University, she instituted a professional development program for history students and revived the department’s travel abroad courses.

As a program assistant at CEAS, she works to promote global awareness, to increase interest in East Asian languages and culture, and to help decolonize academic spaces by promoting the Center and its resources, organizing on campus and community events, and connecting with other East Asian organizations.