Cheryl Naruse

Cheryl Naruse is an Associate Professor of English and the Mellon Assistant Professor in the Humanities at Tulane University’s School of Liberal Arts. Her research engages with contemporary Anglophone literatures, focusing on Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, alongside postcolonial theory, diasporic Asian American literature, and genre studies.

• Education: Ph.D. in English (University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, 2014); M.A. in Cultural Studies in Asia/Pacific (2008); International Cultural Studies Certification (East-West Center, 2009); B.A. in English Language and Literature (University of Washington, 2005)

Her work examines Singapore as a critical site for understanding postcolonial capitalism, neoliberal globalization, and transpacific cultural intersections. She has published in journals such as biography, Genre, and Verge: Studies in Global Asias, with a forthcoming book titled Global Asia and Its National Cultures that analyzes Singapore’s role in global inequality. Current projects include co-editing Detours: A Decolonial Guide to Singapore and writing a second monograph on editorial practices in Southeast Asian literature.

Recent publications span themes of diasporic identity, neoliberalism, and genre theory, reflecting her interdisciplinary approach to postcolonial capitalism and urban cultural studies. Her editorial roles include serving as the Southeast Asia section editor for Oxford's Year's Work in English Studies and co-editing special issues for ARIEL, Social Text Online, and Interventions.

• Awards: Faculty Appreciation Award (2022), ATLAS Fellowship (2020-2021), ACLS Fellowship Finalist (2020-2021), Studio in the Woods Residency (2022)

Naruse has taught courses such as “Postcolonial Theory,” “Race, Empires, and Asian America,” and “Love and Capitalism.” Her research has been supported by a postdoctoral fellowship at Nanyang Technological University’s Global Asia research cluster (2015-16). She previously chaired the MLA Southeast Asia Comparative Literature Forum and the MLA Delegate Assembly Organizing Committee.