Sonja M. Kim

Sonja M. Kim is an Associate Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies at Binghamton University, affiliated with the Institute for Asia and Asian Diasporas. She also serves as Director of the Center for Korean Studies. Her research focuses on the intersection of medicine, governance, social relations, and cultural beliefs in Korea and East Asia. She holds a PhD and MA from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a BA from Yale University.

Kim’s research interests include the history of maternal and infant healthcare in 20th-century Korea, moral imperatives in Korean medical institutions, and management of urban poverty. She teaches courses on Korean and East Asian history, gender, migration, race, nation/empire, and the history of medicine. She is affiliated with the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) program and the Citizenship, Rights and Cultural Belonging (CRCB) Transdisciplinary Area of Excellence.

Kim serves on the editorial boards of the Korean Journal of Medical History and Yonsei Journal of Medical History. Her awards include the Harpur College Internal Award for mentoring and a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award. She has held a faculty fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (IASH).