معرفی
Junko Baba is an Associate Professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the University of South Carolina, College of Arts and Sciences. Her academic career spans over three decades, with expertise in Japanese linguistics, socio-pragmatics, and cultural studies. She holds a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin and has taught at institutions including Nishi Kyushu University and Temple University.
Her research focuses on cross-cultural communication, linguistic affect in Japanese (e.g., mimetics and case marker elision), and the intersection of Japanese culture with media such as manga and film. Notable projects include analyzing the semiotics of food in WWII literature and exploring the pedagogical applications of drama methods in language education.
Baba has received grants, including the 1998 CLASS grant for studying traditional Shikoku pilgrimage in modern contexts. She has advised numerous graduate theses and serves on departmental committees, including Japanese program director. Her teaching spans all Japanese language levels and cultural courses on animation, theater, and sociolinguistics.
Her publications include books on interlanguage pragmatics and over 25 refereed articles. Ongoing research includes Japanese anime fandom analysis and visual emotive structures in manga/anime.
