Natalia Doan

Natalia Doan serves as Assistant Professor of Transnational Japanese History within the Department of History at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her academic work bridges early modern and modern Japanese history with transnational frameworks, emphasizing cultural production and power dynamics across geographical boundaries.

Her educational foundation includes a DPhil and MSc from the University of Oxford alongside a BA from Vassar College, establishing rigorous methodological training in historical analysis. Within her research domain, Dr. Doan investigates how Japanese transnational engagements fostered solidarity movements and challenged Eurocentric hierarchies, particularly through understudied connections between Japanese and Black communities spanning from the pre-Civil War era to contemporary times. This manifests in her examination of samurai diplomacy, gender constructions in popular culture, and resistance to imperial paradigms through cultural production.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals consistent thematic threads across four major works (2019-2023), demonstrating how 19th-century transnational encounters—particularly surrounding the 1860 Japanese Embassy—became crucibles for reimagining race, civilization, and power. Her scholarship strategically intersects diplomatic history with cultural studies, exposing how print media, romantic narratives, and cross-cultural performances subverted dominant racial hierarchies while forging unexpected solidarities between marginalized groups.

Her scholarly recognition includes:

• Shortlisting for the Royal Historical Society Alexander Prize

Dr. Doan actively contributes to academic discourse through documentary appearances discussing samurai history and maintains robust teaching commitments including HIAS 393 'History of Modern Japan' and HIAS 490 'The Samurai: Fact, Fiction, and Fantasy' for the 2024-2025 academic year. Her current research trajectory shows significant expansion into the Boshin War's transnational dimensions and forthcoming monograph on samurai celebrity.