Laura Hein is the Harold H. and Virginia Anderson Professor of History at Northwestern University, specializing in 20th-century Japanese history, international relations, and the legacies of WWII and the Cold War. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1986). Her research focuses on Japan’s transnational history, economic policy debates, and issues of war memory. She currently oversees the New Cambridge History of Japan and has authored/co-edited influential works such as Post-Fascist Japan and Imagination Without Borders . Hein’s academic roles include teaching courses on modern Japan, Okinawa studies, and atomic bomb history. She directs the Arryman Fellows Program in the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs. Her awards include the 2023 Northwestern Provost Award and recognition for expanding non-Western studies at the university. Her research explores themes like economic expertise, war remembrance, and transnational activism. She has collaborated on projects analyzing visual artist Tomiyama Taeko and Okinawan post-reversion studies. Hein’s work bridges historical scholarship with public engagement, emphasizing dialogue across generations and nations to address historical injustices. Recent projects include editing The New Cambridge History of Japan and presenting on U.S.-Japan relations. She actively engages in debates over historical memory, museum curation, and feminist art’s role in social justice.
