Lavanya (she/her) is a Master’s student in the Department of Asian Studies who specializes in premodern Japanese literature. Her research lies in the study of self-writing by women in premodern Japan under the supervision of Drs. Christina Laffin and Joshua Mostow. She is particularly interested in the narration and construction of motherhood/motherly figures and the webs of female friendships in nikki (diaries and memoirs) from Heian period (794-1185).

Before starting her Master’s degree at UBC, she completed her BA (Hons.) in Japanese and her MA in Modern Japanese Literature at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Her graduating dissertation at JNU is titled “Koizumi yakumo no sakuhin ni okeru yume: Akinosuke no yume to Oshidori wo chūshin ni” (The interpretation of Dreams in Koizumi Yakumo’s The Dream of Akinosuke and Oshidori) The dissertation focused on the different interpretations and deconstructions of Kaidan (Japanese horror stories) through uncanny symbolisms and historical comparative examples.

Lavanya is the Graduate Research Assistant and Event coordinator for Japan Lecture Series at the Department of Asian Studies, hosting all the events for the academic year of 2023-24 with Dr. Christina Yi. She is also our Graduate Representative for Anti- Racism Committee in the Department and can be contacted for any query and details through email.