People

Ai Yamamoto is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia. Her research is on modern and contemporary Japanese literature and culture. She is interested in relationships between girls' culture, war, and the subject formation of women writers.

Research Area

alexandra.hoffmann@ubc.ca

Alexandra Hoffmann

Assistant Professor | Classical Persian Literature

Alexandra Hoffmann

Research Area

Persian

I am a scholar of Classical Persian Literature interested in gender & sexuality, embodiment, the history of emotions, and race/ethnicity in premodern Persianate literature and Perso-Islamicate culture.

Research Area

Persian

Alison Bailey

Alison Bailey

Assistant Professor | Chinese

alison.bailey@ubc.ca

Asian Centre 211

Alison Bailey

Research Area

I am an assistant professor in pre-modern Chinese literature in the Department of Asian Studies, UBC. I received a BA (School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London), MA (University of British Columbia) and a PhD (University of Toronto), all in Chinese literature (modern an...Read more

Research Area

Ayaka Yoshimizu

Ayaka Yoshimizu

Associate Professor of Teaching | Associate Graduate Advisor

ayaka.yoshimizu@ubc.ca

C.K. Choi Building 180

Ayaka Yoshimizu

Research Area

Asian Diaspora Studies

Ayaka Yoshimizu is an Associate Professor of Teaching at the Department of Asian Studies. She also teaches and coordinates Arts courses for the UBC-Ritsumeikan Exchange Programs. Ayaka teaches courses on transpacific histories and cultures, Indigeneities in Asia and Asian diaspora, and anti-colonial...Read more

Research Area

Asian Diaspora Studies

Aynur Kadir

Aynur Kadir

Assistant Professor | Lifeways in Indigenous Asia

aynur.kadir@ubc.ca

C.K. Choi Building 178

Aynur Kadir

Research Area

Aynur Kadir is an Indigenous Uyghur scholar, filmmaker and curator with a research focus on the documentation, conservation and revitalization of Indigenous cultures and languages. Her work bridges the gap between Indigenous studies in Canada and in Asia. Her research interests are in global indigen...Read more

Research Area

Bin Zheng

Bin Zheng

Lecturer | Chinese Language and Literature

bin.zheng@ubc.ca

604 822 8574

Auditorium Annex B 217

Bin Zheng

Research Area

Bin Zheng first started teaching Chinese at UBC as a lecturer in 2017. She has since taught both Chinese language courses and literature courses. In the 1990s, she received her B.A. and M.A. Degree in Chinese Language and Literature at Shaanxi Normal University in China. After moving to Canada, she ...Read more

Research Area

Bruce Fulton

Bruce Fulton

Associate Professor | Korean Literature and Literary Translation

fultonb@mail.ubc.ca

604 822 6145

Asian Centre 216

Bruce Fulton

Research Area

Associate Professor Young-Bin Min Chair in Korean Literature and Literary Translation I feel privileged to be part of the vibrant, welcoming community of scholars that is Asian Studies at UBC. As the inaugural holder of the Young-Bin Min Chair in Korean Literature and Literary Translation I offer...Read more

Research Area

Bruce Rusk

Bruce Rusk

Associate Professor | Pre-Modern and Early Modern China | Graduate Advisor

bruce.rusk@ubc.ca

604 822 5183

Asian Centre 404

Bruce Rusk

Research Area

My main areas of research and teaching are the cultural history of China, especially the Ming (1368–1644) through mid-Qing (1644–1911) periods. I have worked on the history of textual studies, literary culture, writing systems, and connoisseurship. Most recently, I co-edited a history of Chin...Read more

Research Area

Buddhist Studies | New Religions

Casey Collins

Casey Collins

Sessional Lecturer | Modern Japanese Religions

casey.collins@ubc.ca

Casey Collins

Research Area

Casey Collins completed his doctoral dissertation, entitled "Walking in the Founders' Footsteps: Hagiography and Devotion in Shinnyo-en, a Japanese New Religion," in April 2023 at the University of British Columbia. His work examines sociological and phenomenological approaches to religious studies,...Read more

Research Area

Buddhist Studies | New Religions

Chien-Ju Lin

Chien-Ju Lin

Lecturer | Chinese Language

chienju.lin@ubc.ca

604 822 6245

Auditorium Annex B 212

Chien-Ju Lin

Research Area

Chien-ju Lin first started teaching Chinese at UBC as a visiting lecturer in 2012, and she is now a lecturer as of 2016, teaching a variety of advanced heritage Chinese courses. Before teaching Chinese at UBC , she taught Chinese at Tamkang University’s Chinese Language Learning Center in Taiwan f...Read more

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Christina Laffin

Christina Laffin

Associate Professor | Classical Japanese

christina.laffin@ubc.ca

604 822 4990

Asian Centre 210

Christina Laffin

Research Area

Associate Professor Japanese CV (PDF) English CV (PDF) Research Interests Medieval travel diaries; women’s education and socialization before 1600; poetic practices and waka culture; theories of travel, gender, and autobiography; noh theatre; and comparative approaches to medieval literature...Read more

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Christina Yi

Christina Yi

Associate Professor | Modern Japanese Literature

christina.yi@ubc.ca

604 827 2093

Asian Centre 403B

Christina Yi

Research Area

My research field is modern and contemporary Japanese literature, with a particular focus on issues of postcoloniality, language politics, genre, and cultural studies. My first monograph, Colonizing Language: Cultural Production and Language Politics in Modern Japan and Korea, was published by Colum...Read more

Research Area

Christopher Rea

Christopher Rea

Professor | Modern Chinese Literature

chris.rea@ubc.ca

604 822 5428

Asian Centre 218

Christopher Rea

Research Area

Christopher Rea is a literary and cultural historian whose research focuses on the modern Chinese-speaking world. My most recent publications concern research methodology, cinema, comedy, celebrities, swindlers, cultural entrepreneurs, and the scholar-writers Qian Zhongshu and Yang Jiang. I am also ...Read more

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Chunping Huang

Chunping Huang

Sessional Lecturer | PhD Candidate

cphuang@mail.ubc.ca

Chunping Huang

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Clayton Ashton

Clayton Ashton

Lecturer | Chinese Thought

clayton.ashton@ubc.ca

Jack Bell Building 137

Clayton Ashton

Research Area

Clayton Ashton is researching the concept of ritual in early Chinese ethics, religion and political thought. Focusing on the writings of pre-Qin and Early Imperial China, he is currently exploring how the idea of ritual was combined with developing ideas about the body, emotions and human nature to ...Read more

Research Area

Clement Tong

Clement Tong

Seasonal Lecturer | China, Hong Kong, and Cantonese Worlds

clement.tong@ubc.ca

Clement Tong

Research Area

Cantonese | East Asia

Dr. Clement Tong is an assistant professor of biblical studies and the coordinator of the Global Mandarin Program at the ACTS Seminaries (TWU). He is also a History and Asian Studies lecturer at the Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and a sessional lecturer at the University of British Columbia. Havi...Read more

Research Area

Cantonese | East Asia

Colleen Laird

Colleen Laird

Assistant Professor | Japanese Film

colleen.laird@ubc.ca

Colleen Laird

Research Area

Research Interests: Japanese cinema—female directors, film stars, and audiences. Videographic criticism.   Produced Video Series: Japanese Women Directors Project: Digital Dialogue Series 2022 Formal Analysis and Japanese Cinema Series 2021 J-Horror Video Series

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Donald Baker

Donald Baker

Professor | Korean

don.baker@ubc.ca

604 822 4478

Asian Centre 223

Donald Baker

Research Area

Professor in Korean History and Civilization He received his Ph.D. in Korean history from the University of Washington and has taught at UBC since 1987. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on Korean history and thought (religion, philosophy, and pre-modern science). In addition, he teac...Read more

Research Area

Asian Diaspora Studies | Japanese

Elijah Greenstein

Elijah Greenstein

Sessional Lecturer | Japanese

elijah.greenstein@ubc.ca

Elijah Greenstein

Research Area

Elijah Greenstein is a historian of modern Japan and East Asia, with interests in maritime, spatial, and transportation history. His current research project explores the evolving place of Japanese ships in the global shipping industry from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. He receiv...Read more

Research Area

Asian Diaspora Studies | Japanese

Eurie Shin

Eurie Shin

Lecturer | Korean Language and Culture

eurie.shin@ubc.ca

604 822 4052

Auditorium Annex B 214

Eurie Shin

Research Area

Eurie received MA's from Yonsei University in Korea and University of California at Berkeley, and she has been teaching Korean at UBC since 2008. She is in charge of placement interviews, and she is the contact person if you are interested in taking any Korean language courses at UBC. https://kor...Read more

Research Area

Fuyubi Nakamura

Fuyubi Nakamura

Associate Professor | Visual and Material Cultures of Asia | MOA Curator, Asia

fuyubi.nakamura@ubc.ca

604 827 2707

Museum of Anthropology 245G

Fuyubi Nakamura

Research Area

Anthropology | Asian Studies | Indigenous issues | Museum Studies | Visual and Material Culture Studies

Fuyubi Nakamura (中村冬日) is a socio-cultural anthropologist and curator trained at the University of Oxford. Fuyubi specializes in the anthropology of art, museum studies, and material and visual culture studies. She has taught in these fields in the graduate school at the Australian National ...Read more

Research Area

Anthropology | Asian Studies | Indigenous issues | Museum Studies | Visual and Material Culture Studies

Gurinder Mann

Gurinder Mann

Lecturer | Punjabi Language and Culture

gurinder.mann@ubc.ca

604 710 9106

Auditorium Annex B101

Gurinder Mann

Research Area

Born and raised in England, Gurinder grew up surrounded by UK Bhangra Bands, many of whom further fueled his innate passion for Punjabi culture. He completed his Bachelor’s degree at UBC, where he later returned to earn a Master’s degree in Asian Studies. He has a vast interest in romantic folkt...Read more

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Haley Blum

Haley Blum

Sessional Lecturer | Graduated 2024 - PhD

hblum@mail.ubc.ca

604 822 5189

Jack Bell Building 136

Haley Blum

Research Area

Haley Blum is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia.

Research Area

Harjot Oberoi

Harjot Oberoi

Professor | South Asian Social & Religious History

oberoi@mail.ubc.ca

604 822 5189

Asian Centre 410

Harjot Oberoi

Research Area

Harjot Oberoi developed a life-long fascination with social history at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University. On completing his BA (Honours) in history at Delhi University he moved in 1976 to the Centre of Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. He received two degrees from this i...Read more

Research Area

Hasan Siddiqui

Hasan Siddiqui

Assistant Professor | South Asian History

hasan.siddiqui@ubc.ca

Asian Centre 403A

Hasan Siddiqui

Research Area

Hasan Siddiqui is a historian of South Asia specializing in early-modern intellectual history. His research interests include the history of encyclopedias, the history of political thought, and the history of the book. He holds a PhD in History from the University of Chicago. Associate Editor, ...Read more

Research Area

Critical Heritage Education | Islamic and Persianate Sufism | Persian

Helena Wu

Helena Wu

Canada Research Chair in Hong Kong Studies | Convenor, UBC Hong Kong Studies Initiative | Assistant Professor | Hong Kong Studies

Helena.Wu@ubc.ca

Helena Wu

Research Area

Asian Studies | Chinese | Hong Kong

My primary area of research is Hong Kong cinema, literature and culture. With my comparative literature, cultural studies and sinological training from Hong Kong and Europe, I am keen on developing interdisciplinary approaches to textual and visual narratives, popular culture, creative industries, a...Read more

Research Area

Asian Studies | Chinese | Hong Kong

Hessam Dehghani

Hessam Dehghani

Assistant Professor of Teaching | Persian Language and Culture

hessam.dehghani@ubc.ca

604 822 4619

Hessam Dehghani

Research Area

Hessam Dehghani is an educator with dual PhDs: one in Linguistics from Allameh Tabatabai University (2011) and another in Philosophy from Boston College (2019). His academic career spans specialized research in Islamic philosophy, Persianate Sufi literature, and Critical Pedagogy combining deep ling...Read more

Research Area

Critical Heritage Education | Islamic and Persianate Sufism | Persian

Hiromi Aoki

Hiromi Aoki

Assistant Professor of Teaching | Japanese Language Pedagogy

hiromi.aoki@ubc.ca

Hiromi Aoki

Research Area

Hiromi Aoki (青木裕美) is an Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia. She specializes in Japanese language pedagogy and is currently interested in how AI can help with language learning. Professor Aoki has taught Japanese at sev...Read more

Research Area

Hsiang-ning Wang

Hsiang-ning Wang

Chinese Language Program Coordinator | Associate Professor of Teaching | Chinese Applied Linguistics

sunnie.wang@ubc.ca

Auditorium Annex B 218

Hsiang-ning Wang

Research Area

I received my Ph.D. in Comparative and International Education and M.A. in both Chinese Pedagogy and Educational Psychology from Indiana University-Bloomington. Before joining the Department of Asian Studies at UBC, I taught courses in international and comparative education at Indiana University (2...Read more

Research Area

Hyejin Jo

Hyejin Jo

Sessional Lecturer of Korean Popular Music In Context

hyejin.jo@ubc.ca

Hyejin Jo

Research Area

Hyejin Jo is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University. Her research focuses on the intersections of Korean popular culture, digital platforms, and gender. She is currently working on her doctoral thesis about how human feelings and labour are platformized in the K-...Read more

Research Area

Hyung-Gu Lynn

Hyung-Gu Lynn

AECL/KEPCO Chair in Korean Research

hlynn@mail.ubc.ca

604 822 1277

Institute of Asian Research 264

Hyung-Gu Lynn

Research Area

Hyung-Gu Lynn is the AECL/KEPCO Chair in Korean Research. Dr. Lynn’s research focuses on Korea and Japan, ranging in chronological coverage from the late-19th century to the present. Research areas include: (1) popular culture; (2) migration; (3) international relations; (4) political history; ...Read more

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Ihhwa Kim

Ihhwa Kim

Lecturer | Japanese Language

ihhwa@mail.ubc.ca

604 827 4035

Auditorium Annex B 207

Ihhwa Kim

Research Area

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Janet Um

Janet Um

Lecturer | Sanskrit Language and Literature

janet.um@ubc.ca

Janet Um

Research Area

Asian Studies | Sanskrit

Janet Um is a scholar of Sanskrit literature and the literary histories of premodern South Asia. Her current work explores the relationship between narrative, literary genre, and conceptions of the author in Sanskrit prose literature. And her broader research interests include narrative traditions a...Read more

Research Area

Asian Studies | Sanskrit

Jee-Yeon Song

Jee-Yeon Song

Sessional Lecturer

sjeeyeon@mail.ubc.ca

Jee-Yeon Song

Research Area

Asian Studies | East Asia | Korean

Research Area

Asian Studies | East Asia | Korean

Jeonghye Son

Jeonghye Son

Lecturer | Korean Language and Culture

jhson39@mail.ubc.ca

604 822 4052

Auditorium Annex B 214

Jeonghye Son

Research Area

Jeonghye Son specializes in Korean sociolinguistics with a specific focus on minority language maintenance/shift, language ideologies and identities. She completed her dissertation on language socialization processes through which languages ideologies and identities are constructed, transmitted and ...Read more

Research Area

April 11, 2025 – July 15, 2025

Jessica Main

April 11, 2025 – July 15, 2025

Jessica Main

Associate Head, Internal | Chair and Director, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Program in Buddhism | Associate Professor | Contemporary Society

jessica.main@ubc.ca

604 822 9305

C. K. Choi 283

Jessica Main

Research Area

Asian Studies | Buddhist Studies | Japanese

Office: Enter the Choi Building and proceed up the stairs to second floor. At the top of the stairs, you will be facing the IAR main office in Room 251. Turn left and go to the very end of the hallway. My office is in the last cluster on the right. Office hours are by appointment here Jessica beg...Read more

Research Area

Asian Studies | Buddhist Studies | Japanese

Ji-yoon An

Ji-yoon An

Assistant Professor | Modern Korean Popular Culture

jiyoon.an@ubc.ca

Ji-yoon An

Research Area

My research, broadly speaking, explores trends and patterns in Korean visual culture as a means of examining the symbiotic relationship between society and culture. My overarching approach can be encapsulated in the question: how does Korean culture document, fictionalize, or influence the micro-lev...Read more

Research Area

Jinhua Chen

Jinhua Chen

Professor | East Asian Buddhism

jinhua.chen@ubc.ca

604 822 5196

Asian Centre 612

Jinhua Chen

Research Area

Asian Studies | Chinese

After receiving my PhD from McMaster University in 1997, where I was trained as an historian of religions with a focus on East Asian Buddhism, under the guidance of Professors Koichi Shinohara, Phyllis Granoff and Robert Sharf, I held a postdoctoral research fellowship at Kyoto University, in Japan....Read more

Research Area

Asian Studies | Chinese

Josephine Chiu-Duke

Josephine Chiu-Duke

Professor | Chinese Intellectual History

chiuduke@mail.ubc.ca

604 822 5732

Asian Centre 406

Josephine Chiu-Duke

Research Area

Degrees: M.A., History: Modern Chinese Intellectual History, History Department, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1982. Ph.D. (U.B.C.) — Chinese Intellectual History Email: chiuduke(at)mail.ubc.ca Special research interest: (l) Traditional Chinese social, intellectual and cultural history...Read more

Research Area

Joshua Mostow

Joshua Mostow

Professor | Pre-Modern Japanese Literature and Art | Acting Language Programs Director

jmostow@mail.ubc.ca

604 822 5131

Asian Centre 217

Joshua Mostow

Research Area

Professor Joshua S. Mostow received his doctorate in the Comparative Literature and Literary Theory Program of the University of Pennsylvania. He has studied at International Christian University (Mitaka, Japan), Université de Paris (III, VII, and Ecole pratique des Hautes Etudes), and Gakushūin U...Read more

Research Area

Jungeun Hong

Jungeun Hong

Visiting Lecturer

jhong30@mail.ubc.ca

Jungeun Hong

Research Area

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Kaori Tanaka

Kaori Tanaka

Lecturer | Japanese Language

kaori.tanaka@ubc.ca

604 822 5511

Auditorium Annex B 200

Kaori Tanaka

Research Area

Kaori Tanaka has taught Japanese as a second language to learners from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds in Taiwan, Japan, Poland and Canada. She used to work as a Japanese language education consultant in Canada and conducted numerous teaching seminars. She studied general linguistics...Read more

Research Area

January 1, 2025 - June 30, 2025

Kay Duffy

January 1, 2025 - June 30, 2025

Kay Duffy

Assistant Professor | Premodern Sinitic Poetry

kay.duffy@ubc.ca

604 822 5180

Asian Centre 405

Kay Duffy

Research Area

Kay Duffy is a scholar of premodern sinitic literatures whose research interests include the poetics, historiographies, and court cultures of the premodern sinographic sphere. Her current research project examines the composition and presentation of literary texts at court banquets held in observanc...Read more

Research Area

Kiran Sunar

Acting Assistant Professor | Punjabi Language, Literature, and Culture

kiran.sunar@ubc.ca

Kiran Sunar

Research Area

Kiran K. Sunar is the new Assistant Professor in Punjabi Language, Literature, and Culture. Kiran’s research and teaching coagulate around literature, religion, and culture in Punjab across its borders and into its diasporas, exploring questions of gender, sexuality, religion, and ecology. Their m...Read more

Research Area

Kyoko Hillman

Kyoko Hillman

Lecturer | Second Language Acquisition/Applied Linguistics

kyoko.kh@ubc.ca

Auditorium Annex B-208

Kyoko Hillman

Research Area

Kyoko joined the department after teaching Japanese language at all levels in the U.S., Japan, China, Canada, and Nigeria.

Research Area

Leo Shin

Leo Shin

Associate Professor | Chinese History (with the Department of History)

lkshin@mail.ubc.ca

604 822 5167

Buchanan Tower 1223

Leo Shin

Research Area

Chinese | Hong Kong

I am a cultural historian of China. I am interested in how the ideas of “China” and “Chineseness” have evolved over time, and I am intrigued by how the sociology of culture—the production, transmission, and consumption of beliefs and practices—has shaped not only how the boundaries ...Read more

Research Area

Chinese | Hong Kong

Li Yang

Li Yang

Lecturer | Chinese language

yangli.yang@ubc.ca

Li Yang

Research Area

Li Yang received her B.A. in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from Zhejiang University, China and her M.A. in East Asian Studies and M.Ed in Educational Policy Studies from the University of Alberta. Before joining UBC, she had taught Chinese language courses for 15 years at the University of A...Read more

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February 2, 2025 - July 25, 2026

Li-jung Lee

February 2, 2025 - July 25, 2026

Li-jung Lee

Lecturer | Chinese Language

lijung.lee@ubc.ca

604 822 6245

Auditorium Annex B 212

Li-jung Lee

Research Area

Li-Jung Lee first started teaching at UBC as a visiting lecturer of Chinese, and she is now a lecturer. She teaches non-heritage Chinese and heritage Chinese courses. Before joining the Department of Asian Studies at UBC, she taught Chinese at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, USA, and devel...Read more

Research Area

Liam Doherty

Liam Doherty

Sessional Lecturer | Cantonese Language

liam.doherty@ubc.ca

Asian Centre 407

Liam Doherty

Research Area

Dr. Liam Doherty is a sessional lecturer teaching in the Cantonese Language Program, with a background in Chinese as an Additional Language Education and a particular interest in digital literacy and multilingualism, translation, corpus linguistics, and the use of open data-driven digital tools to h...Read more

Research Area

Lianbin Dai

Lianbin Dai

Honorary Affiliate Lecturer | Pre-Modern Chinese History

lianbin.dai@ubc.ca

Lianbin Dai

Research Area

Dr. Lianbin Dai is a Sinologist specializing in cultural and social history of late imperial China (1368–1911). Before joining in UBC Asian Studies, he had been teaching in the Department of Pacific and Asian Studies in the University of Victoria. He also has held research and teaching positions a...Read more

Research Area

Mahtab Sirdani

Mahtab Sirdani

Lecturer | Persian Language and Culture

mahtab.sirdani@ubc.ca

Mahtab Sirdani

Research Area

Anthropology | Persian

Dr. Mahtab Sirdani is a sociocultural anthropologist whose research focuses on Iranian diasporic communities in North America, particularly among residents in Massachusetts, USA, and British Columbia, Canada. Her work lies at the intersection of migration studies, phenomenology, the anthropology of ...Read more

Research Area

Anthropology | Persian

Masumi Abe

Masumi Abe

Lecturer | Japanese Language

masumi.abe@ubc.ca

604 827 4075

Auditorium Annex B205

Masumi Abe

Research Area

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Michiko Suzuki

Michiko Suzuki

Lecturer | Japanese Language

michiko.suzuki@ubc.ca

604 822 5511

Auditorium Annex B 200

Michiko Suzuki

Research Area

Major Research Interests: Japanese linguistics, Japanese pedagogy

Research Area

Minami Orihara

Minami Orihara

Sessional Lecturer | Early Modern Japanese History

minami.orihara@ubc.ca

Minami Orihara

Research Area

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Misuzu Kazama

Misuzu Kazama

Lecturer | Japanese Language

misuzu.kazama@ubc.ca

604 822 5362

Auditorium Annex B 206

Misuzu Kazama

Research Area

Major Research Interests: Second language acquisition, Japanese phonetics, and critical literature analysis on Japanese modern literatures

Research Area

mostafa.abedinifard@ubc.ca

Mostafa Abedinifard

Mostafa Abedinifard

Assistant Professor | Modern Persian Literature and Culture

604 822 4710

C.K. Choi 172

Mostafa Abedinifard

Research Area

Iranian Studies | Persian

Dr. Mostafa Abedinifard is an Assistant Professor of Modern Persian Literature and Culture in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia. He holds a PhD in Comparative Literature, an MA in English Language and Literature, and a BA in English Literature. Mostafa’s researc...Read more

Research Area

Iranian Studies | Persian

Nam-lin Hur

Nam-lin Hur

Professor | History of Japan and Religious Culture

namlin.hur@ubc.ca

604 822 5191

Asian Centre 213

Nam-lin Hur

Research Area

Professor Professor Nam-lin Hur teaches premodern Japanese history, Korean-Japanese relations, and Chosŏn Korea in the Department of Asian Studies and conducts research on foreign relations, religion, and society in premodern Japan and Korea. His current monograph projects involve “Jap...Read more

Research Area

Naveena Naqvi

Naveena Naqvi

Assistant Professor | Persianate Islamic Cultures of South Asia

naveena.naqvi@ubc.ca

Asian Centre 409

Naveena Naqvi

I am a historian of early modern and modern South Asia. My research interests include the Persianate world (ca. 13th-19th centuries), with a focus on non-courtly writers in regional contexts under early colonial rule. My broader fields of interest span the history of political Islam, gender and sexu...Read more

Nesrine Basheer

Nesrine Basheer

Assistant Professor of Teaching | Arabic

nesrine.basheer@ubc.ca

Nesrine Basheer

Research Area

Arabic

Nesrine Basheer is an applied linguist and a specialist in teaching Arabic as a foreign language (TAFL). Her research interests include the teaching and assessment of writing and the multidialectal approach to teaching Arabic. Nesrine has taught Arabic at the American University in Cairo, the United...Read more

Research Area

Arabic

Nick Hall

Nick Hall

Lecturer | Japanese Language

nick.hall@ubc.ca

604 827 4075

Auditorium Annex B205

Nick Hall

Research Area

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Noriyuki Kawada

Noriyuki Kawada

Lecturer | Japanese Language

noriyuki.kawada@ubc.ca

604 822 8495

Auditorium Annex B 202

Noriyuki Kawada

Research Area

Office hours: Mondays 12:00-13:50 Thursdays 11:00-12:00 I have been engaging in Japanese language education since 2012 and had taught in China and Hawai’i before UBC, teaching Japanese as a foreign/second language as well as Japanese business/academic skills. Also, I taught Japanese as a ...Read more

Research Area

Pasang Sherpa

Pasang Sherpa

Assistant Professor | Lifeways in Indigenous Asia

pasang.sherpa@ubc.ca

Pasang Sherpa

Research Area

Tashi Delek! I am a Sharwa anthropologist from Pharak, southern part of Mt. Everest region in northeastern Nepal. My research, writing and pedagogy focus on climate change and Indigeneity among Himalayan communities, guided by the question: How do we live in the midst of dying? I am currently...Read more

Research Area

Pihua Lin

Pihua Lin

Lecturer | Chinese Language

pihua.lin@ubc.ca

604 827 3268

Auditorium Annex B 213

Pihua Lin

Research Area

Pihua Lin first started teaching Chinese at UBC as a visiting lecturer in 2016, and she is now a lecturer as of 2018. Before teaching Chinese at UBC, she received a M.A. Degree in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language at National Taiwan Normal University. Then, she became a full-time Mandarin instru...Read more

Research Area

January 1, 2025 – June 30, 2025

Qian Wang

January 1, 2025 – June 30, 2025

Qian Wang

Chinese Language Program Director | Professor of Teaching | Chinese Linguistics

qian.wang@ubc.ca

604 827 3450

Asian Centre 219

Qian Wang

Research Area

Dr. Wang, the Director of the Chinese Language Program at Asian Studies, teaches Mandarin Chinese language courses at UBC. Her Chinese name is 王蒨, which has two parts: WANG, which is her family name meaning king, and Qian, her given name, representing a type of grass that can survive a cold wint...Read more

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Raymond Pai

Raymond Pai

Lecturer | Cantonese Language

raymond.pai@ubc.ca

604 822 4131

Auditorium Annex B 211

Raymond Pai

Research Area

Raymond Pai is a Lecturer and the Director of the Cantonese Language Program at the University of British Columbia. He is also a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada-funded PhD candidate in the UBC Department of Language and Literacy Education. He teaches all levels of Cant...Read more

Research Area

Rebecca Chau

Rebecca Chau

Associate Professor of Teaching | Japanese Language Program Director | Japanese Linguistics

rchau@mail.ubc.ca

604 822 9029

Asian Centre 215

Rebecca Chau

Research Area

Associate Professor of Teaching and Director of Japanese Language Program Educational Background Ph.D. (University of Tsukuba) – Linguistics M.A. (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) – Japanese linguistics Courses taught Japanese language courses at all levels. Research Interests Jap...Read more

Research Area

Renren Yang

Renren Yang

Assistant Professor | Modern Chinese Popular Culture

renren.yang@ubc.ca

C.K. Choi #179 1855 West Mall

Renren Yang

Research Area

Renren Yang’s research and teaching span twentieth-and twenty-first-century Chinese literature, cinema, and popular culture, with a focus on issues of authorship, mediation, and hybrid genres in Chinese literary and media scenes. His current book project, "A Media Genealogy of Literary Fame in Mod...Read more

Research Area

Ross King

Ross King

Professor | Korean Language and Literature

ross.king@ubc.ca

604 822 2835

Asian Centre 411

Ross King

Research Area

Major Research Interests: 1) History of language, writing and literary culture in the Sinographic cultural sphere, with a specific focus on medieval Korea and the interplay of cosmopolitan and vernacular in other regions of the Sinographic cosmopolis. 2) Korean historical linguistics (esp. K...Read more

Research Area

Rumee Ahmed

Rumee Ahmed

Canada Research Chair in Theology and Ethics | Professor of Islamic Law

rumee.ahmed@ubc.ca

604 822 3696

C.K. Choi #173

Rumee Ahmed

Rumee Ahmed received his PhD from the Institute for the Study of Institutional Studies at Bovine University. His research takes an emic approach to the surplus utilization of complexified nomenclature as deontology among in-group academicians. He has written a bunch of books and a bunch of article...Read more

Saeko Suzuki

Saeko Suzuki

Sessional Lecturer | PhD Candidate

saeko.suzuki@ubc.ca

Saeko Suzuki

Research Area

Saeko Suzuki is a Ph.D. candidate specializing in literature, publishing and print culture in early modern Japan under the guidance of Dr. Joshua S. Mostow. Her doctoral project is funded by a SSHRC award and examines the publishing system of illustrated encyclopedias for women between the 18th to 1...Read more

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Samily Kwok

Samily Kwok

Sessional Lecturer | Cantonese Language

samily.kwok@ubc.ca

Samily Kwok

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Research Area

Sebastian Prange

Sebastian Prange

Associate Professor | South Asian History

s.prange@ubc.ca

Sebastian Prange

Sebastian Prange (PhD, University of London) is an economic historian of the medieval Indian Ocean world, with a focus on South India. His research interests revolve around the history of Islam in monsoon Asia, the role of piracy and maritime violence, and the development of capitalism from a non-Eu...Read more

Sharalyn Orbaugh

Sharalyn Orbaugh

Department Head | Professor | Modern Japanese Literature and Popular Culture

sharalyn.orbaugh@ubc.ca

604 822 5132

Asian Centre 401

Sharalyn Orbaugh

Research Area

Department Head, Professor of Modern Japanese Literature and Popular Culture Associate, Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice   Education: PhD in Far Eastern Languages and Literatures, University of Michigan, 1989

Research Area

Sheni (Hsueh-Ni) Chen

Sheni (Hsueh-Ni) Chen

Lecturer | Chinese

sheni@mail.ubc.ca

604 827 4038

Auditorium Annex B 203, 1924 West Mall

Sheni (Hsueh-Ni) Chen

Research Area

Sheni Chen received her Ph.D. from National Taiwan Normal University, majoring in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language. Her thesis topic was “A study on the Training of Volunteer Chinese Teachers for Overseas Chinese School.” This study of teacher training used overseas Chinese schools as the t...Read more

Research Area

Shota Iwasaki

Shota Iwasaki

Sessional Lecturer | PhD Candidate

shota.iwasaki@ubc.ca

Shota Iwasaki

Research Area

Shota Iwasaki is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia with a specialization in modern Japanese literature and visual culture. His dissertation examines representations of speech disabilities and disorders in the literature and visual arts of mode...Read more

Research Area

Shu-ting Hsu

Shu-ting Hsu

she/her/hers

Visiting Lecturer | Chinese Language

shuting.hsu@ubc.ca

Shu-ting Hsu

Research Area

Shu-ting is a visiting lecturer at UBC. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Chinese Literature from National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, where she began learning how to teach Mandarin to foreign students. She then pursued her Master’s degree in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language at Natio...Read more

Research Area

Shuyu Li

Sessional Lecturer | Chinese Language

shuyu.li@ubc.ca

Shuyu Li

Research Area

I graduated from the University of Hong Kong and the Education University of Hong Kong, where I received an MA degree in Teaching Chinese as an International Language. Before coming to Canada, I taught Mandarin at Hong Kong’s international schools and led a short-term Chinese program at the Fontys...Read more

Research Area

Sonam Chusang

Sonam Chusang

Sessional Instructor | Tibetan

sonam.chusang@ubc.ca

604 446 8705

Sonam Chusang

Research Area

Sonam Chusang is the lecturer in the Tibetan language at the University of British Columbia, and taught Intensive Tibetan language course with community engagement programs in the past 3 summers. In the summer of 2007, Sonam also taught Tibetan at the University of Virginia. Sonam has been teachi...Read more

Research Area

Stefania Burk

Stefania Burk

Associate Dean, Academic | Associate Professor of Teaching

stefania.burk@ubc.ca

Stefania Burk

Research Area

Research Area

Su-Anne Yeo

Su-Anne Yeo

Sessional Lecturer

suanne.yeo@ubc.ca

Auditorium Annex A 244D

Su-Anne Yeo

Research Area

Su-Anne Yeo researches and teaches in the areas of film studies, media studies, and cultural studies, with a specialization in Asian and Asian diasporic screen cultures. She completed a PhD in Media and Communications under the supervision of Professor Chris Berry at Goldsmiths, University of London...Read more

Research Area

Sunera Thobani

Sunera Thobani

Professor | Department of Asian Studies

sunera.thobani@ubc.ca

C.K. Choi 177

Sunera Thobani

Research Area

I am a Professor in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia. My scholarship is located at the intersection of the Social Sciences and Humanities. I study and work on critical race, postcolonial, transnational and feminist theory; South Asian women's, gender and sexualit...Read more

Research Area

Sunil Bhatt

Sunil Bhatt

Associate Professor of Teaching | Hindi-Urdu

sunil.bhatt@ubc.ca

604 827 5950

C.K. Choi 180

Sunil Bhatt

Research Area

Hindi-Urdu

I am a linguist who has experienced foreign/second language learning from both sides of the classroom. As a student I learnt Russian and Croatian, and as an educator I got the opportunity to teach Hindi and Hindi-Urdu. Learning foreign languages has given me opportunity to experience the process of ...Read more

Research Area

Hindi-Urdu

Tae Yeon Eom

Tae Yeon Eom

Sessional Lecturer | East Asian Culture

taeeom@mail.ubc.ca

Tae Yeon Eom

Research Area

Tae Yeon Eom is currently completing a Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia in Asian Studies. Through the lens of Western and non-Western diplomatic norms and practices in modern East Asia, his dissertation research triggers deeper considerations about the interweaving of words, acts and thin...Read more

Research Area

Ting-Hsuan Chang

Ting-Hsuan Chang

Visiting Lecturer | Chinese Language Program

tinghsuan.chang@ubc.ca

Ting-Hsuan Chang

Research Area

Ting-Hsuan Chang earned her master’s degree in Chinese as a Second Language from National Taiwan Normal University in 2023, inspired by her mother's teaching career. She views education as a catalyst for societal progress, particularly through language acquisition fostering collaboration and commu...Read more

Research Area

Tsering Shakya

Tsering Shakya

Associate Professor | Religion and Contemporary Society in Asia

tshakya@mail.ubc.ca

604 822 2968

Institute of Asian Research, CK Choi 281

Tsering Shakya

Research Area

Canada Research Chair in Religion and Contemporary Society in Asia Institute of Asian Research University of British Columbia 1855 West Mall, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6T 1Z2 Office: Room 281, C.K. Choi Building Tel: 604-822-2968 E-mail: tshakya@exchange.ubc.ca     ...Read more

Research Area

Weiting Guo

Weiting Guo

Sessional Lecturer | Chinese History and Culture

weiting.guo@ubc.ca

Weiting Guo

Research Area

Chinese | East Asia

I am a historian specializing in law, empire, and identity in China and East Asia. My research focuses on how Chinese people and political regimes navigated social, legal, and political structures, as well as traumatic events. I also explore law and violence in Taiwan within the broader context of E...Read more

Research Area

Chinese | East Asia

Wen-Hui Chen

Wen-Hui Chen

Visiting Lecturer | Chinese Language

wenhui.chen@ubc.ca

Wen-Hui Chen

Research Area

Wen-Hui is a visiting lecturer of Chinese language. She received her M.A. Degree in Chinese Pedagogy from Indiana University Bloomington. Before joining the Department of Asian Studies at UBC, she taught Chinese courses at Colby College and Indiana University Bloomington in the U.S. and Chinese Lang...Read more

Research Area

Asian American Studies | Chinese

Xiaoqiao Xu

Xiaoqiao Xu

Lecturer | Modern Chinese Literature and Cinema

xiaoqiao.xu@ubc.ca

Xiaoqiao Xu

Research Area

Xiaoqiao Xu's research covers a wide range of topics, from late imperial China to modern China, with a particular focus on women's literary and theatrical productions. Her work explores the intersectionality of gender, sexuality, and ethnicity, challenging the neatness of the contrast between the ol...Read more

Research Area

Asian American Studies | Chinese

Xiaowen Xu

Xiaowen Xu

Associate Professor of Teaching | Chinese Applied Linguistics

xiaowen.xu@ubc.ca

Asian Centre Room 219

Xiaowen Xu

Research Area

RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS Dr. Xu teaches courses on Chinese language, literature, and English/Chinese translation. She holds two doctoral degrees: one in East Asian Studies from the University of Toronto (2014), and the other in English from the Beijing Foreign Studies University (1997). Her ...Read more

Research Area

Xiong Zhang

Xiong Zhang

Sessional Lecturer | Chinese Language and Literature

xiong.zhang@ubc.ca

Xiong Zhang

Research Area

Xiong Zhang holds an MA in Asian Studies with a focus on Chinese Studies from the University of British Columbia. His academic interests encompass Chinese literature, Chinese popular culture, and non-fiction writing. Prior to his role at UBC, he earned a BA in Journalism from Renmin University of Ch...Read more

Research Area

Xueshun Liu

Xueshun Liu

Lecturer | Chinese Language

xliu@mail.ubc.ca

604 827 3268

Auditorium Annex B 213

Xueshun Liu

Research Area

Upon graduating from the Anyang Normal College Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Xueshun Liu pursued further studies at Zhengzhou University (M.A.) and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Ph.D.) in Beijing. A Harvard-Yenching visiting fellow in 1996-7 and UC Berkeley Center for Chin...Read more

Research Area

Yasuko Matsumoto

Yasuko Matsumoto

Lecturer | Japanese Language

yasuko.matsumoto@ubc.ca

Yasuko Matsumoto

Research Area

My teaching career started at Williams College as a language fellow. After that, I taught at several different institutions in the U.S. and Japan. Before coming to UBC, I taught at Stanford University for three years. I will be teaching first and second year Japanese language courses at UBC as of Se...Read more

Research Area

Yuning Liu

Yuning Liu

Sessional Lecturer | Chinese Language and Literature

yuning.liu@ubc.ca

Yuning Liu

Research Area

Chinese | Sinophone studies | Taiwanese Theatre

Yuning Liu is a Ph.D. candidate in Theatre Studies at the University of British Columbia. Her research interests include the interplay between various xiqu (traditional Chinese theatre) genres in Taiwan and the interrelationship between xiqu, politics, national identity, and cultural policy. She als...Read more

Research Area

Chinese | Sinophone studies | Taiwanese Theatre

Zheng Cai

Zheng Cai

Lecturer | Chinese Language and Literature

zheng.cai@ubc.ca

604 822 8574

Auditorium Annex B 217

Zheng Cai

Research Area

Zheng (Tim) Cai received his M.A. in East Asian Studies and Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Alberta. His research interests include Chinese literature, literary theory, Chinese intellectual and cultural history, Chinese art history, comparative poetics, and world literature. B...Read more

Research Area

Zoe Lam

Zoe Lam

Lecturer | Cantonese Language

zoe.lam@ubc.ca

604 822 4131

Auditorium Annex B 211

Zoe Lam

Research Area

Zoe Lam teaches Cantonese language courses at UBC Asian Studies. Please visit https://blogs.ubc.ca/zoelam/ to learn more about her work.

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Visiting Researchers and Scholars

Ai Nishino

Ai Nishino

Visiting Lecturer | Japanese Language Education

ai.nishino@ubc.ca

Ai Nishino

Research Area

Ai Nishino is a Japanese language educator and researcher with extensive experience in language education and teacher training. Teaching roles at several universities across the Asia-Pacific, along with work as a full-time language education specialist at Japanese government-affiliated institutions,...Read more

Research Area

Dongkyu Kim

Dongkyu Kim

Visiting Professor | Japanese Linguistics

dongkyu.kim@ubc.ca

Dongkyu Kim

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Research Area

Eunjoo Cho

Eunjoo Cho

Visiting Associate Professor

eunjoo.cho@ubc.ca

Eunjoo Cho

Research Area

Korean | Korean Modern Poetry

Professor Eunjoo Cho received her Ph.D. in Korean modern poetry from Seoul National University. She is particularly focused on researching Korean poetry during the Japanese colonial period and is also interested in the relationship between poetry and other arts.

Research Area

Korean | Korean Modern Poetry

Haeyoung Lee

Haeyoung Lee

Visiting Associate Professor | History Education

hlee107@mail.ubc.ca

Haeyoung Lee

Research Area

Research Area

Hamid Sajadi

Hamid Sajadi

Visiting Assistant Professor | Religion and Politics

hamid.sajadi@ubc.ca

Hamid Sajadi

Research Area

Iranian Studies | Politics | Religion

Hamid Sajadi is a political sociologist and his research focuses on the intersections of democracy, development, religion, and societal security, with a particular emphasis on Iran. His works combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies to address critical themes that are essential for unders...Read more

Research Area

Iranian Studies | Politics | Religion

Hyunju Song

Hyunju Song

Visiting Associate Professor

hsong28@mail.ubc.ca

Hyunju Song

Research Area

Dr. Hyunju Song received her Ph.D. in Korean Semantics from Kyungpook National University. Her research primarily focuses on metaphor use across various genres and educational discourse, as well as the analysis of discriminatory, hateful expressions. She is also interested in the meanings and socio-...Read more

Research Area

Jaehwa Kim

Jaehwa Kim

Visiting Associate Professor | Confucianism

jaehwa.kim@ubc.ca

Jaehwa Kim

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Research Area

Junhyung Park

Junhyung Park

Visiting Associate Professor l Modern Korean History

junhyung.park@ubc.ca

Junhyung Park

Research Area

Asian Studies | Korean

Professor Junhyung Park received his Ph.D. in Korean modern history from Waseda University. He is researching foreign settlements in East Asia in the late 19th century using genealogical methods.

Research Area

Asian Studies | Korean

Myungkeun Cho

Myungkeun Cho

Visiting Associate Professor | Modern Korean History

myungkeun.cho@ubc.ca

Myungkeun Cho

Research Area

Research Area

Sanghyun Park

Sanghyun Park

Visiting Professor | Korean-Japanese Comparative Culture

sanghyun.park@ubc.ca

Sanghyun Park

Research Area

Asian Studies | Japanese | Korean

Sanghyun Park is a Visiting Professor in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia. His interest lies in how modern Japanese introduced during the colonial period (1910-1945) became integrated into modern Korean and continues to exist today. He is also intrigued by the pe...Read more

Research Area

Asian Studies | Japanese | Korean

Seok Min Eun

Seok Min Eun

Visiting Professor | History of Medicine in East Asia

seokmin.eun@ubc.ca

Seok Min Eun

Research Area

Professor Seok Min Eun is recently focused on researching philosophical thinking inherent in medical theory, especially interested in the relationship between Confucianism and medicine.

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Shaohua Zheng

Shaohua Zheng

Visiting Associate Professor | Ancient Chinese Literature

shaohua.zheng@ubc.ca

Shaohua Zheng

Research Area

Chinese | Chinese Traditional Opera | Literature

Research Area

Chinese | Chinese Traditional Opera | Literature

Tomoko Minezaki

Tomoko Minezaki

Visiting Assistant Professor | Japanese Language Education

tomoko.minezaki@ubc.ca

Tomoko Minezaki

Research Area

Ph.D. in Linguistics (Japanese Linguistics Studies) August 2013 Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul, South Korea Dissertation title: “Japanese-korean contrastive study of language behavior in the scene of a offer” Advisor: Professor Mikyung Han MA in Education (Japanese language ed...Read more

Research Area

Youngdo Yun

Youngdo Yun

Visiting Associate Professor | Modern Chinese Literature

yyun06@mail.ubc.ca

Youngdo Yun

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Research Area