Kimberly Hassel

Kimberly Hassel is an Assistant Professor in Duke University's Department of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies, specializing in sociocultural anthropology and digital ethnography. Her work focuses on digital culture, youth culture, and diaspora studies in Japan, particularly examining how technology shapes identity and social relationships. She holds a PhD from Princeton University, where her dissertation received the Marjorie Chadwick Buchanan Dissertation Prize.

Education:

• PhD in East Asian Studies, Princeton University (2022)
• MA in East Asian Studies, Princeton University
• BA in Japanese modified with Anthropology, Dartmouth College

Research Interests:

• Digital sociality and its impact on Japanese youth
• Instabae (Instagenic) culture and gendered practices
• Afro-Japanese and Dominican diaspora studies
• Transnational Black digital networks

Awards:

• Princeton University Marjorie Chadwick Buchanan Dissertation Prize

Teaching and Mentoring: Teaches courses on Japanese popular culture and critical digital studies at Duke. Actively mentors students of color pursuing academic careers through programs like Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship.

Collaborations: Research affiliate of the DISCO Network and participant in the Cultivating Early Career Networks Between Global Asias program. Collaborative projects include studies on Dominican-Japanese diasporic communities and transnational digital networks.