Rebecca Corbett

Rebecca Corbett serves as Japanese Studies Librarian at USC Libraries East Asian Library and holds a dual appointment as Senior Lecturer in History within the Van Hunnick Department of History at the University of Southern California's Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. An affiliate faculty member of the USC Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions & Culture, she chaired the Association for Asian Studies Council of Conferences (2023-2025) and previously directed Special Projects for USC Libraries' Specialized Collections Portfolio (2022-2024).

Her educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Japanese Studies, University of Sydney (2009)
• B.A. (Hons) in Asian Studies, University of Sydney (2004)

Dr. Corbett specializes in Japanese tea culture (chanoyu) and early modern Japanese women's history, critically reevaluating women's roles as practitioners and producers of tea traditions. Her current research examines Western women in Japan (1868-1945) as wives and daughters of diplomats/business figures, recovering their voices and legacies, while a parallel project investigates early Western encounters with chanoyu. Her work bridges material culture studies, gender history, and transnational exchange.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals consistent thematic focus on tea's material dimensions, gendered social practices, and cross-cultural transmission. The trajectory shows increasing emphasis on Western perspectives since 2018, with recent works exploring diplomatic contexts (2020), commodity histories (2020), and aesthetic theory (2018, 2025), while maintaining foundational work on women's historical agency in tea practice.

Her scholarly recognition includes:

• Japan Foundation Research Fellowship, Waseda University (2024)
• Japanese Studies Postdoctoral Fellowship, Stanford University (2013-2015)
• Japan Foundation Doctoral Fellowship, Nichibunken (2006-2007)
• Australian Postgraduate Award (2004-2008)

As Senior Lecturer, she mentors history students while directing collection development for premodern Japanese studies through the Project for Premodern Japan Studies. Her grant-funded research includes Japan Foundation fellowships supporting archival work at Waseda University and Nichibunken. She collaborates extensively with USC Libraries' Special Collections on Japanese rare books and the Cassady Lewis Carroll Collection.

Dr. Corbett actively shapes the Japanese studies community through leadership in the Shinso Ito Center and Association for Asian Studies, organizing academic events and public programming that connect library collections with scholarly research on premodern Japan and cultural exchange.