William Fleming

William Fleming is an Assistant Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He specializes in early modern Japanese literature, with a focus on 18th- and 19th-century fiction, popular theater, book history, and cultural exchange between Japan, China, and the West. Fleming holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and has held visiting research positions at Kyoto University, Waseda University, and the National Institute of Japanese Literature in Tokyo. Before joining UCSB, he taught at Yale University’s Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures and the Theater Studies Program. His research explores the circulation of Chinese fiction in early modern Japan and its adaptation in Japanese literary works. He has authored a monograph and numerous peer-reviewed articles on topics ranging from Kabuki theater to Japan’s cultural interactions with overseas influences. Fleming also contributes to pedagogical innovation, advocating for problem-based learning in humanities education.

Education:

• Ph.D., Harvard University
• Undergraduate studies, Harvard University

Research Interests:

Fleming’s work centers on the interplay between Japanese literature and broader cultural contexts. Key themes include literary adaptation, transnational cultural flows, and the role of performance and print media in shaping cultural narratives. His monograph Strange Tales from Edo: Rewriting Chinese Fiction in Early Modern Japan (2023) examines the reception and transformation of Chinese stories in Japanese literary traditions. He also investigates how popular theater forms like Kabuki engaged with ideas of national identity and foreign cultures.

Professional Contributions:

Fleming has published commentaries on rare books in the Gerhard Pulverer Collection and contributed reviews to journals like Japan Forum and Asian Theatre Journal. His teaching philosophy emphasizes active learning strategies, as detailed in his 2017 article on problem sets in humanities education.