I am an intellectual and cultural historian whose work emphasizes transnational contacts and experiences across the modern United States and East Asia. In particular, my current research centers around three related issues: 1) the history of Asian migrants and the African diaspora, particularly in transpacific contexts; 2) anti-imperialism in the United States, Korea, and Japan and its transnational dimensions; and 3) historical and critical-theoretical analyses of the relationships between empire, race/ethnicity, and gender.

Historical perspectives are vital for studying global society and international relations, as events in the past shape our present. To understand the past, historians engage in dialogue with primary sources. We seek out hints in documents and materials people often overlook or, worse, throw away, which speak to both historical and contemporary issues. Dialogue with historical sources stimulates us to imagine profoundly different—and, at times, surprisingly similar—lives and societies that existed many years ago.

I am happy to advise graduate students whose interests include, but are not limited to, empire/colonialism, race/ethnicity, gender, intersectionality, social movements, nationalism, transnationalism, modernity, and global capitalism in North America and the wider world like the Asia Pacific. I look forward to working with students who aspire to develop a critical and global perspective in history and/or related fields, such as ethnic studies, cultural studies, critical theory, American studies, and East Asian studies.