Sophie Volpp is a Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on Chinese literature from the 16th to 19th centuries, with particular emphasis on theatricality, material culture, and literary objects. She is the author of *Worldly Stage: Theatricality in Seventeenth-Century China* (2011) and *The Substance of Fiction: Literary Objects in China, 1550-1775* (2022). Her current projects include a book on the National Peiping Library’s preservation efforts during the Sino-Japanese War and an analysis of referents in *The Story of the Stone*. Her scholarly work bridges literary analysis and cultural history, examining themes such as gender, power, and spectacle in late-imperial China. She has translated works by pre-modern women poets and dramatists, contributing to gender-centric scholarship in East Asian studies. Her publications span journal articles and edited volumes, addressing topics like Qing-era theatrical design, material circulation in classical novels, and cross-cultural influences in literary production. Her research has been published in venues such as *Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies* and *Journal of Asian Studies*.
Andrew J Fleck is an Associate Professor in the English and Comparative Literature Department at San José State University, affiliated with the College of Humanities and the Arts. He has been teaching since 2001, specializing in Early Modern British Literature with a focus on Dutch-English cultural relations between 1588-1688. Fleck holds a PhD from Claremont Graduate University (2000). His research explores how Dutch figures influenced English literary and cultural imagination, including studies on John Donne, Thomas Nashe, and early modern drama. He has published widely in journals like Studies in Philology and Journal of British Studies , with a particular emphasis on textual analysis, historical narratives, and cross-cultural exchanges. Fleck’s work spans from examining the role of Dutch language performances in early modern theater to analyzing the representation of national identity in texts like The Shoemaker’s Holiday . His recent publications (2013) include studies on John Donne’s engagement with astronomical themes and global adaptations of Macbeth . He maintains an active presence in academic encyclopedias, contributing entries on Milton’s Dutch connections and Renaissance authors. His scholarship bridges literary analysis with historical context, often highlighting how literature reflects political, religious, and cultural tensions of the period. Fleck’s teaching and research reflect a commitment to interdisciplinary approaches, integrating historical, linguistic, and cultural methodologies.
Ato Quayson is the Jean G. and Morris M. Doyle Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and Professor of English and African and African American Studies at Stanford University, where he also chairs the Department of African and African American Studies. He previously held professorships at New York University (2017–2019) and the University of Toronto (2005–2017), where he was inaugural director of the Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies and became a University Professor (2016), the university's highest honor. His academic journey includes a B.A. (First Class Honors) in English and Arabic from the University of Ghana (1989) and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Cambridge (1995). He held a Junior Research Fellowship at Wolfson College, Oxford, and was a Reader in Commonwealth and Postcolonial Literature at Cambridge (1995–2005), concurrently directing the Centre for African Studies and serving as Pembroke College Fellow. Quayson’s research explores postcolonial literature, urban studies, disability studies, and cultural theory. His work bridges global and local contexts, with notable publications such as Oxford Street, Accra (Urban History Association Prize) and Tragedy and Postcolonial Literature (Warren-Brooks Prize). He co-edits the Cambridge History of Postcolonial Literature and chairs initiatives like Contours: The Cambridge Literary Studies Hour . His accolades include fellowships from the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (2006), the Royal Society of Canada (2013), the British Academy (2019), and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2023). He has also served as President of the African Studies Association (2019–2020). Quayson curates the YouTube channel Critic.Reading.Writing , discussing literature and urban studies, and teaches courses on global Black diaspora studies and Toni Morrison’s work. His current projects include Accra Chic: A Locational History of Fashion and studies on exile in African literature.
Tarryn Chun is an Associate Professor in the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre at the University of Notre Dame, with a concurrent appointment in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures. She is also a Faculty Fellow at the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies. Her research focuses on modern and contemporary Chinese theatre, with an emphasis on intersections between performance, technology, and media. She holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan’s Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies. Her work explores topics such as technological modernization in Chinese theatre, intercultural performance, and the role of digital media in contemporary performance. Key publications include Revolutionary Stagecraft: Theatre, Technology, and Politics in Modern China (2024) and articles on topics like digitally enhanced Chinese performance and Mao-era theatrical practices. She serves on the boards of the Association for Asian Performance and the Association for Chinese and Comparative Literature, and is the Online Editor for Theatre Journal . Her research has been supported by awards such as the 2021 National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship. She teaches courses on global theatre history, Asian theatre, and intercultural performance.
Darshana Sreedhar Mini is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she teaches and conducts research at the intersection of feminist media, gender & sexuality studies, transnational media, migrant media, and South Asian screen cultures. She is also the Director for Media and Gender Justice at the 4W Initiative and holds affiliations with the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, Center for Visual Cultures, Center for South Asia, and the Havens Wright Center for Social Justice. Ph.D., Division of Cinema and Media Studies, University of Southern California M.Phil., Center for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta (CSSSC), India Dr. Mini’s research centers on Global Media Cultures, Transnational Cinemas and Migration, South Asian Cinema, and Feminist Media. Her work critically examines soft-porn cinema in India, media publics, censorship, labor in the entertainment sector, and migrant media practices. Her first book, Rated A: Soft-Porn Cinema and Mediations of Desire in India (UC Press, 2024), is a groundbreaking study that combines archival and ethnographic methods to explore the social and cultural impact of Malayalam soft-porn from the 1970s to the 2000s. Her second book project, Telegeographies of Indian Migration , investigates media flows between South Asia and Southeast Asia, focusing on colonial-era labor migration and its lasting effects on identity and community formation. Her recent publications span a diverse range of topics including South Asian pornographies, digital intimacy, anti-caste activism, #MeToo and intersectional feminism, transnational empathy in cinema, and media infrastructures. These works reflect a strong trend toward interdisciplinary, feminist, and decolonial scholarship that challenges dominant canons in film and media studies. Edward Cameron Dimock, Jr. Prize in the Indian Humanities, AIIS, 2024 Early Career Award, NCA, 2024 Race, Ethnicity and Indigeneity Fellow, IRH, UW-Madison, 2024 Byerly Award for Feminist Political Economy, ICA, 2023 First Book Award, The Center for Humanities, UW-Madison, 2022 SCMS Student Writing Award, 2017 Dr. Mini has been actively involved in academic service and leadership, including directing the Media and Gender Justice initiative, co-organizing seminars on migrant media, and contributing to feminist and anti-caste scholarship. Her research has been supported by prestigious grants from the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She also leads a significant grant-funded project as Principal Investigator for the 'South Asian Film and Media Collection' at UW-Madison. She is a key member of several collaborative research environments, including the Center for Visual Cultures and Performance Studies (CVCPS), the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theatre Research (WCFTR), and the 4W Initiative, where she directs programming on media and gender justice. These affiliations reflect her commitment to interdisciplinary, socially engaged scholarship and the creation of inclusive academic communities.
Bic Ngo is a Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota . She is also the Rodney S. Wallace Professor for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning . Her research and leadership center on culturally relevant pedagogy, urban and multicultural education, and immigrant education, with a deep focus on Hmong American and Lao American communities in the Twin Cities. Education: PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison Research Interests: Bic Ngo’s scholarship critically examines how culture, race, class, and gender shape the educational experiences of immigrant students. Her work explores how schools and educators can adopt anti-oppressive and culturally responsive practices to mitigate inequality. She draws on critical, cultural, and feminist theories, engaging with scholars like Homi Bhabha, Michel Foucault, and Judith Butler. Her ethnographic studies with Hmong and Lao American youth reveal the complexities of identity, cultural difference, and the impact of schooling on community and family life. Research Projects & Grants: Project Thrive (2020–2026): $1.5 million AANAPISI grant from the U.S. Department of Education Asian American College Excellence (AACE) Project (2016–2021): $1.75 million AANAPISI grant from the U.S. Department of Education Editorial & Leadership Roles: Co-Editor-in-Chief, Educational Studies Associate Editor, American Educational Research Journal Associate Editor, Anthropology & Education Quarterly Courses Taught: CI 8146 – Critical Ethnography in Education CI 8156 – Asian American Education CI 8155 – Immigrant Families and U.S. Schools CI 8154 – Culturally Relevant Pedagogy CI 8148 – Conducting Qualitative Studies in Educational Contexts CI 8131 – Critical Examination of Curriculum in Context
Pallavi Sriram is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Colorado College, joining in 2018. Her interdisciplinary work bridges dance studies, transnational socio-political analysis, and global histories with a focus on South Asia and Afro-Asian worlds. She holds a Ph.D. in Culture and Performance from UCLA (2017), an M.A. from UCLA (2010), and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Dance from Northwestern University (2010). Research Interests: Dr. Sriram explores dance's role in socio-political transformations, particularly in 18th-century South India, developing the concept of 'performative geographies' to analyze translocal artistic exchanges. Her work challenges colonial historiographies by emphasizing dance as a dynamic relational practice. Current research expands into Indian Ocean Afro-Asian connections and early modernity. Artistic Practice: A dancer and choreographer, Sriram merges scholarly and creative work through South Indian classical idioms, improvisation, and experimental collaborations. Her projects explore alternative performance genealogies via film, concert dance, and musical experimentation. Education: Ph.D. in Culture and Performance, UCLA, 2017 M.A. in Culture and Performance, UCLA, 2010 B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Dance, Northwestern University, 2010 Labs/Teams: Engages in interdisciplinary collaborations across dance, academia, and community-based projects, though specific lab affiliations are not detailed in the text.
David J Gundry is an Associate Professor of Japanese at the University of California, Davis, specializing in medieval and early-modern Japanese literature. His research focuses on comparative history of the novel, Edo-period popular culture, and textual analysis of works by Ihara Saikaku. He holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University. His awards include the Japan Foundation Doctoral Fellowship (2006) and translation awards from Shizuoka International Translation Competition (2005, 2001). Current projects involve translating Ihara Saikaku's Budō denraiki and Honchō nijū fukō, alongside studies on sexuality in Saikaku's fiction. Teaching focuses on Japanese literature, film, and translation, including courses like JPN 106 (Japanese Culture Through Film) and JPN 131/133 (Modern Japanese Literature).
John B. Weinstein serves as Provost and Vice President and holds the rank of Associate Professor of Chinese and Asian Studies at Bard College at Simon’s Rock. He has a distinguished academic background with a PhD from Columbia University, an MA from Montclair State University, and a BA (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) from Harvard College. Dr. Weinstein’s research focuses on modern Chinese and Taiwanese theater, including Republican-era comic drama and contemporary Taiwanese plays. He has directed numerous Chinese-language productions and is a former president of the Association for Asian Performance (2006–2011). His scholarly contributions include edited volumes like Voices of Taiwanese Women and articles in Asian Theatre Journal and Modern Chinese Literature and Culture . He has been recognized with the Emily H. Fisher Faculty Fellowship (2009–2011) and the Dr. John A. Glover Award (2006). His teaching spans Chinese language, Asian studies, theater, women’s studies, and queer studies. He played a pivotal role in founding Bard High School Early College’s Chinese and theater programs and directed Simon’s Rock’s Writing and Thinking Program (2007–2011). His work bridges academic scholarship with practical theater production, emphasizing transnational performance studies and early college pedagogy innovations documented in Educating Outside the Lines (2013).
University of California , Santa Barbara (UCSB)United States
William Fleming is an Assistant Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He specializes in early modern Japanese literature, with a focus on 18th- and 19th-century fiction, popular theater, book history, and cultural exchange between Japan, China, and the West. Fleming holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and has held visiting research positions at Kyoto University, Waseda University, and the National Institute of Japanese Literature in Tokyo. Before joining UCSB, he taught at Yale University’s Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures and the Theater Studies Program. His research explores the circulation of Chinese fiction in early modern Japan and its adaptation in Japanese literary works. He has authored a monograph and numerous peer-reviewed articles on topics ranging from Kabuki theater to Japan’s cultural interactions with overseas influences. Fleming also contributes to pedagogical innovation, advocating for problem-based learning in humanities education. Education: Ph.D., Harvard University Undergraduate studies, Harvard University Research Interests: Fleming’s work centers on the interplay between Japanese literature and broader cultural contexts. Key themes include literary adaptation, transnational cultural flows, and the role of performance and print media in shaping cultural narratives. His monograph Strange Tales from Edo: Rewriting Chinese Fiction in Early Modern Japan (2023) examines the reception and transformation of Chinese stories in Japanese literary traditions. He also investigates how popular theater forms like Kabuki engaged with ideas of national identity and foreign cultures. Professional Contributions: Fleming has published commentaries on rare books in the Gerhard Pulverer Collection and contributed reviews to journals like Japan Forum and Asian Theatre Journal . His teaching philosophy emphasizes active learning strategies, as detailed in his 2017 article on problem sets in humanities education.
University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignUnited States
Sandra Ruiz is the Sue Divan Associate Professor of Performance Studies and Conrad Humanities Scholar (2021–2026) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. She holds affiliate appointments in Gender and Women’s Studies, Asian American Studies, and the Program in Comparative and World Literature. Her research bridges Performance Studies, Puerto Rican Studies, Latinx Studies, and queer theory, focusing on anticolonial aesthetics, minoritarian futurisms, and the intersections of race, gender, and cultural temporality. Dr. Ruiz earned a Ph.D. and MA in Performance Studies from New York University, along with a BA in English Language & Literature from the University of Chicago. Her work has been recognized through fellowships including the HRI Fellowship (2021–2022), Helen Corley Petit Scholarship (2020–2021), and the Michael Kirby Memorial Dissertation Prize (2011). Her scholarship spans books like Ricanness: Enduring Time In Anticolonial Performance (2019) and Left Turns in Brown Study (2024), exploring themes of decolonial aesthetics, Brown existentialism, and minoritarian grief-work. Recent projects include Formless Formation: Vignettes for the End of this World (2021), which critiques capitalist temporality through avant-garde performance. Key Awards: Conrad Humanities Scholar, HRI Fellow, Michael Kirby Memorial Prize Teaching: Courses on minoritarian aesthetics, Latinx dramatists, and queer existentialisms Research Networks: Unit for Criticism & Interpretive Theory Fellow (2016–2018) Her work interrogates how marginalized communities reimagine futurity through performance, blending continental philosophy with ethnographic critique to challenge colonial and capitalist structures.
Howard Y. F. Choy is an Associate Professor of Chinese Languages and Literatures at Wittenberg University. He holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature and humanities from the University of Colorado. His research focuses on modern and contemporary Chinese culture, with a particular emphasis on literary and cultural discourses surrounding history, disease, and environmental humanities. He has held academic positions at Stanford University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Hong Kong Baptist University. Education: Ph.D. in Comparative Literature, University of Colorado Dr. Choy’s research interests span Chinese literature, environmental humanities, and cultural studies. He is the chief editor of the Brill series Hong Kong Culture and Literature and African and Asian Anthropocene , co-editor of Routledge Companion to Yan Lianke , and author of Remapping the Past: Fictions of History in Deng's China . His work frequently intersects with themes of political narratives, historical memory, and socio-cultural pathologies. His recent publications demonstrate a shift toward interdisciplinary environmental studies, particularly in the Global South. He has contributed to positions , American Journal of Chinese Studies , and Asian Theatre Journal , blending literary analysis with anthropological and ecological perspectives. Grants & Advising: No specific grants mentioned, though his editorial roles suggest sustained academic engagement. No advisee names listed. Choy’s academic affiliations include editorial leadership in major academic presses and teaching at prestigious institutions across three continents.
Katie Schaag is an Assistant Professor of Theatre and Performance at Spelman College since 2021. Her interdisciplinary approach engages the page, stage, gallery, screen and social context as sites of embodied inquiry. As a writer, artist and theorist, she researches experimental aesthetics through critical race, gender, feminist, trans, queer, and environmental studies. Her educational background includes: Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin-Madison M.A. from University of Wisconsin-Madison B.A. from Loyola University Chicago Schaag's research focuses on performativity, plasticity, and minoritarian avant-gardes. Her first book project, "Conceptual Theatre: Race, Gender, and Dematerialization," theorizes experimental aesthetics in African American and Asian American avant-garde drama. Her second project, "American Plasticity," draws on eco-critical, feminist, and queer theory to examine synthetic plastic aesthetics in contemporary performance. She creates site-specific performances, immersive installations, and lecture performances, often collaborating with her artistic duo SALYER + SCHAAG. Her scholarly work appears in Modern Drama, Performance Research, and Inter Views in Performance Philosophy, while her public essays appear in Edge Effects and Yes Femmes. She has presented research internationally at Performance Studies International, Performance Philosophy, and International Federation for Theatre Research. Schaag has received several notable awards: Brittain Postdoctoral Fellow at Georgia Tech (2018-2021) Mendota Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at University of Wisconsin-Madison Humanities Without Walls National Fellow As a committed public humanities scholar, Schaag co-founded the Art + Scholarship Borghesi-Mellon Workshop and the Madison Performance Philosophy Collective at UW-Madison. She has curated grant-funded "Theory-Practice Collaboratories" and international symposia, and continues this interdisciplinary work at Spelman College. Her creative practice includes the interactive digital poetry platform "The Infinite Woman," which was selected for the Electronic Literature Organization's global e-lit collection (vol. 4). With SALYER + SCHAAG, she creates durational relational aesthetics projects exhibited at venues including Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and Woman Made Gallery.
Dr. Jennifer Goodlander is an Associate Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature and an Adjunct in Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance at Indiana University Bloomington, College of Arts & Sciences. She holds affiliations with Gender Studies, Folklore and Ethnomusicology, Cultural Studies, Southeast Asian and ASEAN Studies, and Anthropology. Her research focuses on puppetry, transnational performance, and the intersection of tradition/modernity in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia. She has authored influential books like Women in the Shadows (2016) and Puppets and Cities (2018). She is president of the Association of Asian Performance and has received grants from the Mellon Foundation and a Fulbright Fellowship. Education: Ph.D. (Interdisciplinary Arts, Ohio University, 2010), M.F.A. (Asian Performance-Directing, University of Hawai‘i, 2004), B.A. (Theatre and Women’s Studies, Kalamazoo College, 1997). Research emphasizes intercultural performance theory, challenging Western hegemony via global Asia frameworks. Current projects explore Southeast Asian puppetry’s role in identity articulation and transnational cultural dynamics. She teaches courses on drama, intercultural encounters, and performance studies at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
Su Yang is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Texas, based in the Department of Art. Her work focuses on Chinese feminist art studies, exploring female representation through paintings, photography, video, and film. She holds a Ph.D. in Visual, Asian Culture, and Gender Studies from the University of Melbourne, an M.F.A. in Painting from SUNY Buffalo, and a B.A. in Design from Tsinghua University. Yang's research investigates female beauty, bodily autonomy, and women's power through interdisciplinary artistic practices. Her exhibitions have been featured globally at venues like Anderson Gallery (Buffalo), Shanghai M50 Creative Park, Astor Theatre (Melbourne), and Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Municipal Theatre (Bogotá). Notable media coverage includes Chinese state media outlets like Art China and international platforms such as Australia Contemporary Art & Feminism. Prior to her current role, she served as faculty in creative practice at the University of Melbourne. Her work bridges academic research and artistic expression, addressing cultural critiques through visual mediums.
