Faculty

Asian Studies
Multidisciplinary Program

asianstudies.vassar.edu

The program offers a multidisciplinary and global approach to studying the peoples and cultures of Asia. Course offerings in both the social sciences and the humanities focus on East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, and cover a wide range of topics, including East-West encounters, diasporas and globalization, social movements, environmental and political histories, technology, economies, regional security issues, gender and sexuality, post-colonial and nationalist film genres, music, art history, popular culture, Asian education systems, history, rituals, religion and Asian healing traditions, and both Asian and Asian American literary texts and social contexts. Options include a major and a correlate in Asian Studies as well as a correlate in Asian American Studies. Majors and correlates work closely with advisers to design their program of study based on their specific interests. The program encourages and places students to study abroad in Asia.

Professor of Political Science and Director of Asian Studies
BA, MA, Nankai University (南开大学); MA, PhD, University of Chicago
Professor of Education on the Dexter M. Ferry, Jr. Chair & Chair of Education and Coordinator of Teacher Education
BA, MA, Wesleyan University; PhD, Stanford University
Assistant Professor of American Studies and Asian Studies
BA, Cornell University; MA, Brown University; MS, University of Oxford; PhD, Brown University
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Science, Technology and Society
BS, Yale University; MA, Columbia University in the City of New York; MA, Harvard University; MPhil, PhD, Columbia University in the City of New York
Assistant Professor of Drama
Amanda Culp wearing a black shirt and green necklace strung with multi-sized green circles.
MAR, Yale University; BA, Vassar College; MA, MPhil, PhD, Columbia University in the City of New York
Professor of Political Science
Andrew Davison wearing a burgundy turtle neck shirt and grey jacket.
BA, Lafayette College; MA, University of Delaware; PhD, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Associate Professor of Chinese and Japanese
Hiromi Tsuchiya Dollase wearing a purple shirt and black jacket with arms folded.
BA, MA, Baika Women College; MA, Illinois State University; PhD, Purdue University-Main Campus
Associate Professor of Chinese and Japanese
Wenwei Du wearing a pink collared shirt.
BA, Fudan University (复旦大学); MA, PhD, Washington University in St Louis
Associate Professor of Film
A close-up photo of a person with short dark hair, brown-rimmed glasses, and red lips smiling at the camera
BA, MA, PhD, University of Southern California
Professor of Anthropology
Martha Kaplan
BA, Bryn Mawr College; MA, PhD, University of Chicago
Professor of Chinese and Japanese
Pictured: Haoming Liu - Man with a suit and glasses standing outside with grass and trees in the background.
BL, Peking University (北京大学); MA, Indiana University-Bloomington; MPhil, PhD, Yale University
Adjunct Instructor in Chinese and Japanese
Yuko Matsubara wearing a blue shirt over a black v-neck sweater and a bow in front.
BA, Reitaku University; BA, University of Stirling; MA, SUNY College at New Paltz
Professor of Sociology
Seungsook Moon wearing a flower patterned shirt and brown jacket with short dark hair.
BA, Yonsei University; MA, Northeastern University; PhD, Brandeis University
Professor of Political Science on the Betty Goff Cook Cartwright Chair
BA, Osmania University; MA, MPhil, Jawaharlal Nehru University; PhD, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Associate Professor and Chair of Music
BM, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities; MM, The Boston Conservatory; MM, PhD, The University of Texas at Austin
Professor and Chair of Chinese and Japanese on the L.B. Dale & A. Lichtenstein Chair
Peipei Qiu wearing a burgundy shirt and jacket.
BA, MA, Peking University (北京大学); MPhil, PhD, Columbia University in the City of New York
Visiting Assistant Professor of Korean
BA, Jeonbuk National University; MA, University of Delaware; PhD, University at Buffalo
Assistant Professor of History
Portrait of Ashanti Shih
BA, University of California-Berkeley; MA, MPhil, PhD, Yale University
Assistant Professor of Chinese and Japanese
headshot.
BA, MA, PhD, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia
Professor of Religion
BSocSci, University of Cape Town; MA, PhD, University of California-Santa Barbara
Professor of Geography
Woman in suit jacket smiling - Pictured: Yu Zhou
BS, MS, Peking University (北京大学); PhD, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities