EDUCATION
University of Pennsylvania
Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations, 2013
Dissertation: The Female Gaze in Contemporary Japanese Literature
Committee: Ayako Kano, Linda Chance, and Susan Napier
M.A. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations, 2009
Master’s Thesis: Illusion and Reality in Miike Takashi’s Audition
Emory University
B.A. in Japanese Studies and English, 2006
Senior Thesis: Demonic Women in Modern Japanese Literature
Thesis Advisors: Julia Bullock, Cheryl Crowley, and Rebecca Copeland
JAPANESE LANGUAGE TRAINING
Japanese Language Proficiency Test, Level 1 (Advanced), December 2008
Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies, September 2007 – June 2008
Middlebury Summer Japanese School, June – July 2007
Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies, September 2004 – May 2005
INSTITUTIONAL AFFILIATIONS
University of Pennsylvania
Lecturer in Japanese Studies, June 2020 – present
Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations
George Mason University
Assistant Professor of Japanese, Fall 2014 – Spring 2020
Department of Modern and Classical Languages
University of Notre Dame
Visiting Assistant Professor of Japanese Literature, Fall 2013 – Spring 2014
Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures
University of Pennsylvania
Instructor, Fall 2012
School of Liberal and Professional Studies
Haverford College
Visiting Instructor, Fall 2011
Department of East Asian Studies
PUBLICATIONS
Academic Monograph
Manga Cultures and the Female Gaze. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020.
Journal Articles
“I Coveted That Wind: Ganondorf, Buddhism, and Hyrule’s Apocalyptic Cycle.” Games and Culture 16, No. 1 (January 2021): 3-21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412019865847.
“The Gentle Inclusivity of Kawakami Hiromi’s ‘Summer Break.'” Proceedings of the Association of Japanese Literary Studies 21 (2020): 211-215.
“The Precarity of the Housewife in Kirino Natsuo’s ‘Rusted Hearts.'” Japanese Language and Literature 52, No. 1 (April 2018): 201-240.
“A Legend of Regret: Fallen Kingdoms and Postcolonial Ghosts in Twilight Princess.” Proceedings of the Association of Japanese Literary Studies 18 (2017): 47-59.
“Queering the Media Mix: The Female Gaze in Japanese Fan Comics.” Transformative Works and Cultures 20 (Fall 2015). https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2015.0628.
“Short Skirts and Superpowers: The Evolution of the Beautiful Fighting Girl.” U.S.-Japan Women’s Journal 47 (Winter 2014): 45-72.
“Mythical Landscapes and Imaginary Creatures: Pokémon and Japanese Regionalism.” Proceedings of the Association of Japanese Literary Studies 14 (2013): 261-271.
Book Chapters
“Sympathy for the Villain: A Queer Memoir of Online Video Game Fandom.” In Queer Life, Queer Love: An Anthology, edited by Matt Bates, Golnoush Nour, and Sarah & Kate Beal, 69-75. London: Muswell Press, 2021.
“Between Fans: History and National Identity in Online Debates on Axis Powers Hetalia.” In The Korean Wave from a Private Commodity to a Public Good, edited by Yeonhee Yoon and Kiwoong Yang, 145-154. Seoul: Korea University Press, 2020.
“Illusion, Reality, and Fearsome Femininity in Takashi Miike’s Audition.” In Gender and Contemporary Horror in Comics, Games and Transmedia, edited by Steven Gerrard, Samantha Holland, and Robert Shail, 109-120. Bingley, United Kingdom: Emerald Publishing, 2019.
“The Legends of Zelda: Fan Challenges to Dominant Video Game Narratives.” In Woke Gaming: Digital Challenges to Oppression and Social Injustice, edited by Kishonna L. Gray and David J. Leonard, 213-228. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2018.
“The Cute Shall Inherit the Earth: Postapocalyptic Posthumanity in Tokyo Jungle.” In Introducing Japanese Popular Culture, edited by Alisa Freedman and Toby Slade, 81-90. New York: Routledge, 2018.
“Dangerous Women and Dangerous Stories: Gendered Narration in Kirino Natsuo’s Grotesque and Real World.” In Rethinking Modern Japanese Feminisms, edited by Julia C. Bullock, Ayako Kano, and James Welker, 170-184. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2018.
“Bowser Koopa.” In 100 Greatest Video Game Characters, edited by Jaime Banks, Robert Mejia, and Aubrie Adams, 26-28. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.
Online Essays
“Evergrace: A Forgotten FromSoft Classic”
Sidequest, September 25, 2023
“How Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Navigated Fan Expectations”
Sidequest, May 2, 2023
“Caelid and the Environmental Horror of Elden Ring“
Unwinnable, March 16, 2023
“A Monstrous Little Mermaid Story”
Cosmic Double, January 8, 2023
“The Role of Dōjinshi in Comic Fanzine Discourse”
Women Write About Comics, October 17, 2022
“The End of the Line for the Shinra Corporation: Avalanche and Japanese Environmental Activism in Final Fantasy VII“
Return to the Planet, January 31, 2022
“Cosmic Horror and the Ruins of Capitalism in Night in the Woods“
Entropy, May 18, 2021
“Outsider Stories in Contemporary Japanese Fiction”
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative, May 2, 2018
“Why Ganondorf Was Wrong in The Wind Waker“
FemHype, February 18, 2017
“Magic and Gender in Final Fantasy VI“
Kill Screen, August 16, 2016
“Beyond Damsels & Villains in A Tale of Two Rulers“
FemHype, July 18, 2016
“Japanese Environmentalism, Shinto, & The Legend of Zelda“
FemHype, May 10, 2016
“Yoshi’s Woolly World & Mellow Mode: Validating All Skill Levels”
FemHype, May 3, 2016
“Innocence and Sexual Maturity in His Dark Materials“
Lady Geek Girl and Friends, October 18, 2014
“Attack of the Purse Snatchers: Gender and Bag Policies in U.S. Comic Book Stores”
Geek Feminism, July 3, 2014
Academic Book Reviews
Review of Daniel Dockery’s Monster Kids: How Pokémon Taught a Generation to Catch Them All
American Journal of Play (Winter 2023)
Review of Rachael Hutchinson and Jérémie Pelletier-Gagnon’s edited volume Japanese Role-Playing Games: Genre, Representation, and Liminality in the JRPG
Asian Studies Review (October 2022)
Review of Hiromi Tsuchiya Dollase’s Age of Shōjo: The Emergence, Evolution, and Power of Japanese Girls’ Magazine Fiction
Pacific Affairs (December 2021)
Review of Yoshiko Okuyama’s Reframing Disability in Manga
Pacific Affairs 94, No. 2 (June 2021)
Review of Rachael Hutchinson’s Japanese Culture Through Videogames
Pacific Affairs 93, No. 2 (June 2020)
Review of Michal Daliot-Bul and Nissim Otmazgin’s The Anime Boom in the United States: Lessons for Global Creative Industries
Pacific Affairs 92, No. 3 (September 2019)
Review of Rebecca Suter’s Holy Ghosts: The Christian Century in Modern Japanese Fiction
Reading Religion, A Publication of the American Academy of Religion (October 2018)
Review of Casey Brienza’s Manga in America: Transnational Book Publishing and the Domestication of Japanese Comics
Journal of Transformative Works and Cultures 27 (2018)
Review of Tamae K. Prindle’s Women in Japanese Cinema: Alternative Perspectives
Pacific Affairs 91, No. 1 (March 2018)
Review of Sandra Annett’s Anime Fan Communities
Journal of Transformative Works and Cultures 25 (2017)
Review of the Boss Fight Books Series
Asiascape: Digital Asia 3 (2016)
Review of Ian Bogost’s How to Do Things With Videogames
Asiascape: Digital Asia 2 (2015)
Review of Saitō Tamaki’s Beautiful Fighting Girl, trans. J. Keith Vincent and Dawn Lawson
ImageTexT: Interdisciplinary Comics Studies 7, No. 2 (2013)
Online Reviews
“Emily Carroll’s A Guest in the House Beckons with Gothic Fantasies”
Women Write About Comics, October 25, 2023
“The Hills of Estrella Roja Embarks on a Spooky Southwest Gothic Adventure”
Women Write About Comics, August 29, 2023
“Mamo Explores the Darker Side of Witchy Traditions”
Women Write About Comics, August 22, 2023
“Soul Void Dives Deep into Retro Body Horror”
Sidequest, August 21, 2023
“River’s Edge Reflects Gritty Millennial Malaise”
Women Write About Comics, August 18, 2023
“Fishing Vacation Dredges Up Unwholesome Summer Fun”
Sidequest, June 19, 2023
“Space Trash Stages a Lunarpunk Rebellion”
Women Write About Comics, February 14, 2023
“You Died Anthology Explores a Gentle Afterlife”
Women Write About Comics, November 30, 2022
“Fruiting Bodies Digs Deep into Botanical Horror”
Women Write About Comics, October 14, 2022
“Himawari House Finds a Home in Cross-Cultural Friendship”
Women Write About Comics, September 12, 2022
“The Greatest Thing Is a Love Letter to Gay Teens and Queer Zines”
Women Write About Comics, July 20, 2022
“Pixels of You Snaps an AI Romance in High Contrast”
Women Write About Comics, March 30, 2022
“Comrade Himbo Embraces the Softer Side of Anti-Capitalist Masculinity”
Women Write About Comics, March 17, 2022
“When I Was Me: Moments of Gender Euphoria Captures Colorful Snapshots of Queer Joy”
Women Write About Comics, February 3, 2022
“Closing the Gaps in Queer Storytelling in Stone Fruit by Lee Lai”
Women Write About Comics, November 30, 2021
“Peering into the Darkness of The Crossroads at Midnight“
Women Write About Comics, October 21, 2021
“A Movie Theater Meets Reality in Breakwater“
Women Write About Comics, September 16, 2021
“Feminist Halloween 2017: Review of Nico’s Fortune“
The Lobster Dance, October 18, 2017
“Review of Tiffany Hong’s Dissertation, Narrative Strategies in the Fiction of Murakami Haruki“
Dissertation Reviews, April 27, 2016
“Review of Laura Knetzger’s Don’t Go in the Old Greene House“
The Lobster Dance, October 28, 2015
“The Strange Horizons Book Club: Ten Billion Days and One Hundred Billion Nights“
Strange Horizons, October 26, 2015
Translations
“A World Where Horses Sell Tickets”
Translation of Murakami Haruki’s Uma ga kippu o utteiru sekai
Doublespeak 3 (2013)
“The God of Bears”
Translation of Kawakami Hiromi’s Kamisama
Inventory 2 (2011)
CONFERENCES AND LECTURES
Conference Papers
The Affective Economies of Independent Comics Publishing
“The Business of Comics” Conference of the British Academy, hosted by University of Chester and University of Chichester
May 12, 2024
The Role of Dōjinshi in Comic Fanzine Discourse
“Histories & Futures of Comics Communities” Symposium of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival
June 17, 2022
The Gentle Inclusivity of Mental Illness in Kawakami Hiromi’s “Summer Break”
Annual Conference of the Association of Japanese Literary Studies
January 25, 2020
Link Is Not Silent: Disability Positivity in Fan Readings of Breath of the Wild
Annual Conference of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies
March 15, 2019
Linkle and the Female Gaze: Differences in the Reception of Female Character Design in American and Japanese Fan Communities
Annual Conference of the Association of Asian Studies
March 23, 2018
The Next Big Thing: Charting Fan Cultures, Social Media, and the Content Industry in Japan
Annual Conference of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies
March 14, 2018
Ganondorf Was Not Wrong: Postapocalyptic Political Fantasy in The Wind Waker
Modern Language Association Annual Convention
January 7, 2017
A Legend of Regret: Fallen Kingdoms and Postcolonial Ghosts in Twilight Princess
Association of Japanese Literary Studies Annual Conference
October 29, 2016
The Legends of Zelda: Transnational Fan Challenges to Video Game Narratives
Communicating with Cool Japan: International Communication Association Preconference
June 8, 2016
What It Means to Be Human: Magic and Gender in Final Fantasy VI
American Comparative Literature Association Annual Meeting
March 18, 2016
Watch Out, or Adults Will Control You: Angry High School Girls in Kirino Natsuo’s Real World
Annual Conference of the Association of Asian Studies
March 26, 2015
The Poetics of Boys Love: Transfiguring Masculinities in Yaoi Parodies of Final Fantasy VII
Manga Futures: The Sixth International Scholarly Conference on Manga
November 2, 2014
Between Fans: History and National Identity in Online Debates on Axis Powers Hetalia
Korean Wave Beyond Nationality: First Annual Conference on Korean Studies
April 25, 2014
The Cute Shall Inherit the Earth: Postapocalyptic Posthumanity in Tokyo Jungle
Annual Conference of the Modern Language Association of America
January 10, 2014
It’s Dangerous to Go Alone: Teaching Video Games in a Japanese Context
Between ‘Cool’ and 3-11: Second Annual Teaching Japan Conference
April 27, 2013
Sexuality, Politics, and Misogyny in the Work of Kirino Natsuo
Rethinking Modern Japanese Feminisms: Research Conference at Emory University
April 20, 2013
Mythical Landscapes and Imaginary Creatures: Pokémon as a Construction of a Fantasy Japan
Annual Conference of the Association for Japanese Literary Studies
October 14, 2012
Queering Gendered Manga: CLAMP’s Subversion of Female Character Tropes
LibrAsia: The Second Asian Conference on Literature and Librarianship
April 8, 2012
Theories of Narrative Consumption and the Evolution of Shōjo Manga
Mid-Atlantic Region Association of Asian Studies Conference
October 23, 2011
Illusion, Reality, and the Feminine Ideal in Miike Takashi’s Audition
Mid-Atlantic Region Association of Asian Studies Conference
October 23, 2010
What Dreams May Come: The Postmodern and the Premodern in Kon Satoshi’s Paprika
Mid-Atlantic Region Association of Asian Studies Conference
October 31, 2009
Invited Lectures
How The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Navigated Fan Expectations
State University of New York at Buffalo Asian Studies Program
February 29, 2024
Sailor Moon: How These Magical Girls Transformed Our World
The Japan Foundation, New York
January 28, 2021
Remembering Isao Takahata, Cofounder of Studio Ghibli
The Japan Foundation, New York
November 17, 2018
Strong Female Characters: Gender, Gaming, and Digital Cultures in Japan
The University of Scranton
April 12, 2018
The Female Gaze in Anime and Manga
Lunchtime Speaker Series, Maryland Institute College of Art Baltimore
March 22, 2017
Big Eyes, Magical Girls, and the American Way: The Cultural Cross-Pollination of Shōjo Manga
Globalized Manga Culture and Fandom Symposium, CUNY Baruch College
February 19, 2015
Women and Gender Issues in Modern and Contemporary Japan
Pennsylvania State University Abington
February 11, 2013
Kon Satoshi and the Animated Actress
Sewanee: The University of the South
November 23, 2010
Community Outreach Lectures
Apocalyptic Fantasies and Environmental Anxieties in Video Games
Casa Con Online Fan Convention
December 23, 2023
The Legend of Zelda and Japanese Religion
Otakon, Washington DC
August 1, 2020
A Season of Change: Nature and Technology in Japanese Animation
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at George Mason University
April 24, 2019
Japanese Urban Legends
Anime USA, Washington DC
October 19, 2018
Anime, Manga, and Video Games in the United States and the Rise of “Cool Japan”
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at George Mason University
October 25, 2017
Infinite Lives and Infinite Possibilities: Posthumanism and Video Games
MAGFest Music and Gaming Educational Symposium, National Harbor, MD
February 20, 2016
The Sparkling World of 1970s Shōjo Manga
Geek Girl Con, Seattle
October 11, 2015
The Beautiful End of the World: Eschatologies of the Bishōjo
Los Angeles Anime Expo Anime and Manga Studies Symposium
July 4, 2015
Japanese Fiction for Anime Fans
Anime USA, Washington, DC
October 4, 2014
Introduction to Anime and Manga Studies
Otakon Anime Convention, Baltimore
August 8, 2014
Queering the Media Mix: The Female Gaze in Japanese Fan Comics
Los Angeles Anime Expo Anime and Manga Studies Symposium
July 4, 2014
Revealing and Concealing Identities: Cross-Dressing in Anime and Manga
Sakura-Con Anime Convention, Seattle
April 19, 2014
Fantasies of Diversity: Representations of Race in Japanese Video Games
MAGFest Music and Gaming Educational Symposium, National Harbor, MD
January 4, 2014
Short Skirts and Superpowers: The Female Gaze in Anime and Manga
Los Angeles Anime Expo Anime and Manga Studies Symposium
July 5, 2013
Nostalgic Environmentalism in Studio Ghibli’s The Secret World of Arrietty
Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia
April 11, 2013
In the Beginning, Woman Was the Sun: Women in Japanese History
One Book One Philadelphia Program, Pennsylvania State University Abington
February 11, 2013
Sirens, Shapeshifters, and Seductresses: The Demonic Women of Japan
Sakura-Con Anime Convention, Seattle
April 23, 2011
Strong Female Characters: Feminism and the Ladies of Final Fantasy
Zenkaikon Anime Convention, Philadelphia
March 19, 2011
Talking to the Dead: History and Memory in Koreeda Hirokazu’s After Life
Philadelphia Japan House Film Series
February 9, 2011
FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
2021
Association for Asian Studies Accessibility Grant
2015
George Mason University Center for Global Studies Faculty Research Grant
2012
Japan Foundation Dissertation Research Fellowship
2012
Cecilia Segawa Seigle Prize Fellowship for Japanese Studies
2012
University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences Research Travel Award
2011
University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences Graduate Blog Award
2007
Middlebury College Kathryn Wasserman Davis Scholarship
2006
University of Pennsylvania Benjamin Franklin Fellowship
2005
Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies Research Travel Grant
2004
Freeman Award for Study in Asia
2004
Bridging Scholarship for Study Abroad in Japan
Digital Fantasy Diary 