Ju Hui Judy Han

Ju Hui Judy Han is an Associate Professor in Gender Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, with additional affiliations at the Center for Korean Studies, Center for the Study of Women, and Asia Pacific Center. Her office is located in 1117 Rolfe Hall at UCLA. As a cultural geographer, Professor Han is committed to building critical and transnational conversations concerning gender, sexuality, and activism, regularly contributing to community-based projects and public events both on campus and beyond.

Professor Han received her Ph.D. in Geography from UC Berkeley and her B.A. in English and Women's Studies from UC Berkeley. Her educational background bridges humanities and social sciences, providing a strong foundation for her interdisciplinary research.

Her research interests span (Im)mobilities, Religion and difference, conservatism, LGBTQ/queer politics and activism, Comics and graphic novels, Korean studies, and Cultural geography. Professor Han approaches these topics through a critical lens that emphasizes transnational perspectives, particularly focusing on South Korea and the Korean diaspora. Her work often examines how power operates through spatial arrangements and how marginalized communities navigate and resist dominant structures. She has developed innovative approaches to studying activism through comics and graphic nonfiction, creating accessible yet theoretically rich analyses of complex social phenomena.

Professor Han's publications reveal consistent engagement with queer politics in South Korea, religious movements, and transnational activism. Her work shows a progression from analyzing specific case studies to developing broader theoretical frameworks about resistance, solidarity, and spatial politics. The recurring themes across her publications include the intersection of religion and queer politics, the spatial dimensions of activism, and the transnational connections between social movements.

• UCLA Center for the Study of Women/Barbra Streisand Center, inaugural Barbra Streisand Fellowship on Truth in the Public Sphere
• Podcast Support Grant, University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI), 2021-22
• Society of Hellman Fellows Award, UCLA, 2021-22
• UCLA Faculty Career Development Award, 2018-2019
• Co-Applicant, 'Protesting Publics in South Korea,' SSHRC Insight Grant (PI: Jennifer Jihye Chun), 2015-2020
• Co-Investigator, 'Urban Aspirations in Seoul: Religion and Megacities in Comparative Studies,' Max Planck Institute, 2011-2017

Professor Han actively contributes to public discourse through media appearances and community engagement. She has received significant research funding supporting her work on South Korean protest movements and urban religious dynamics. Her teaching portfolio is diverse, including the Gender Studies undergraduate core class on power (102), senior capstone seminars (187), elective courses on transnational feminist politics (131) and comics and graphic nonfiction (185), as well as graduate seminars on feminist geographies, queer temporalities, and research design.