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

Haley studies anthropomorphism in premodern Japanese literature. She focuses primarily on plant anthropomorphism (plants turning into humans) in a short story genre called otogizoshi, with an emphasis on how anthropomorphic plant characters reveal connections between popular culture, religion, and performance arts in the late medieval period (approx. 1400-1600).

Haley studied under Professor Tokuda Kazuo on a government MEXT scholarship at Gakushuin Women’s College in Japan from 2016-2018.