Joanne Leow

Joanne Leow is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in the Department of English at Simon Fraser University. Her academic work bridges literary criticism, spatial theory, and decolonial methodologies, focusing on Southeast Asia and transnational contexts. She holds a PhD from the University of Toronto, MA from National University of Singapore, and BA from Brown University.

Her research examines how literature, film, and art contest postcolonial capitalist systems, particularly in Singapore and transnational spaces. Key projects include the SSHRC-funded "Intertidal Polyphonies" digital archive exploring coastal ecologies in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Vancouver via sound recordings and collaborative scholarship. Her creative works include the poetry collection Seas Move Away (2022) and the upcoming Exhumations (2026).

Leow leads collaborative initiatives like Detours: A Decolonial Guide to Singapore (forthcoming with Duke University Press), emphasizing community engagement. Her digital humanities projects at intertidal.usask.ca integrate field recordings, interviews, and tide-linked algorithms to map coastal histories.

Her teaching focuses on globalization, postcolonial literature, and environmental humanities. Current courses include ENGL 850 on Globalization, Literature, and Culture.