Erica Kanesaka

Erica Kanesaka is an Assistant Professor of English at Emory University specializing in Asian American literary and cultural studies with a focus on kawaii/cuteness's racial and sexual politics. Her research intersects childhood studies, transnational feminisms, feminist disability studies, and science/technology studies. She holds an M.F.A. from NYU and a Ph.D. from UW-Madison, and previously served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Brown University's Pembroke Center.

Her current projects include an academic monograph tracing transpacific racial/gender dynamics through children's books/toys since the 19th century and a public-facing essay collection merging cultural critique with personal narratives on Asian American feminist politics. Her work has been awarded by the Association for Asian American Studies and Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs.

Teaching emphasizes relational pedagogies from women-of-color feminisms and disability studies, focusing on affect, play, and everyday life. Courses include 'Cute Studies,' 'Asian American Women Writers,' and 'Transpacific Femininities.' Public writing appears in Ms. Magazine, Public Books, and other venues.