Erin L. Brightwell

Erin L. Brightwell is Associate Chair and Associate Professor of Pre-modern Japanese Literature at the University of Michigan's Department of Asian Languages and Cultures. She holds a PhD from Princeton University (2014) and an MA from the University of Washington (2007). Her work bridges Japanese medieval texts with broader East Asian and transnational contexts, focusing on how language and texts construct authority during periods of sociopolitical upheaval.

Research emphases include medieval Japanese historiography (particularly Mirror-genre works), cross-cultural textual exchanges between Japan-China-Europe, and language's role in imperial and post-imperial identities. Recent projects analyze Japanese empire discourse through 1930s-40s texts mediating between Taiwan, Germany, and Japan. She has been a member of the AAS NEAC Distinguished Speakers Bureau (2024-2027).

Teaching spans undergraduate and graduate courses on pre-modern Japanese literature, cross-cultural encounters, and imperial period texts. Awards include the 2017 Kyoko Selden Memorial Translation Prize for her work on Wang Changxiong's Taiwanese-Japanese story *The Torrent*. Major funding comes from the Japan Foundation, Hakuho Foundation, and University of Michigan's Center for Japanese Studies.