Brian Bernards

Brian Bernards is an Associate Professor at the University of Southern California’s College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, with dual appointments in East Asian Languages and Cultures and Comparative Literature. His research redefines inter-Asian cultural dynamics through literary and cinematic analysis.

• PhD in Asian Languages & Cultures (UCLA, 2011)
• Specializes in Southeast Asian media and Sinophone/postcolonial studies

Research focuses on translingual exchanges between East and Southeast Asia, challenging East-West paradigms through analysis of migration narratives, cultural hybridity, and postcolonial resistance in literature and film. Key geographic interests include Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan.

Notable publications examine Sinophone cinema across borders, flash fiction in Singapore, and anti-colonial literary strategies in Burma and Thailand. His work reveals patterns in inter-Asian cultural dialogue and marginalized identity formation.

Awarded prestigious fellowships including:

• Asian Cultural Council Individual Fellowship ($28,480)
• SSRC InterAsia Junior Scholarship ($30,000)
• Mellon Foundation Sawyer Seminar funding ($175,000)

Recipient of USC’s top teaching honors, including the Dornsife General Education Teaching Award.