This autumn, five new graduate students entered the Asian Languages and Literature graduate program.
One came to study Chinese modern literature, one Buddhist Studies, two Japanese linguistics, and one modern Japanese literature. They have very diverse backgrounds, and come to us by way of Oglethorpe University, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Ritsumeikan University, the University of Edinburgh, and Indiana University - Bloomington. Here is a little introduction for each of them. We welcome them to our department and wish them success in their academic pursuits!
Michael Butcher received his BA in History and Comparative Religion from California State University - Chico and his MA in Religious Studies from Indiana University - Bloomington, and has come to UW to study Sanskrit and the various Prakrits, notably Gandhari. Michael’s interests are in Indian inscriptions and writing systems and ancient Buddhist manuscripts from India and Central Asia. Outside of school, Michael is a fervent reader of Tolkien and enjoys collecting ancient Hellenistic and Indian coins.
Xinzhan Chen received her master's degree in Modern Chinese Cultural Studies at the University of Edinburgh, UK, and she is working with Professor Chris Hamm in her pursuit of a PhD in Chinese literature. Xinzhan's research interests are modern and contemporary Chinese literature and culture.
Harumi Maeda is from Kobe, Japan, and received her BA in International Studies from Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan in 2014. Harumi is working with Professor Amy Ohta and is interested in Japanese linguistics, foreign language pedagogy, and second language acquisition. She also a Japanese language teaching assistant for the department since spring quarter 2015. Besides her studies Harumi reports that she enjoys teaching foreign languages, watching baseball, movies, and TV dramas. Ichiro (although he is not with Seattle Mariners anymore) and Brad Pitt are her heroes, and she has started to enjoy hiking in the Pacific Northwest.
Sayo Sakamoto completed her MA in Cultural Studies at Tokyo Metropolitan University. Her research interest lies in postwar Japanese literature and popular culture. Specifically, she focuses on the revival of classic themes as a response to dramatic social and cultural changes, the representation of women in the context of masculinity, and descriptions of hardship and violence not only in Japanese literature, but also in films, theatres, and music in the postwar period. Outside of her research, she enjoys cooking, watching movies, and hopping used bookstores as well as thrift stores.
Aaron Steel graduated from Oglethorpe University with a BA in French and is delighted to be spending this year at UW studying Japanese linguistics in the graduate program with Professor Amy Ohta. Although born in Tacoma, Washington, he has lived the majority of his life on the east coast, particularly in Nashville, Tennessee, and is enjoying his return to the Pacific Northwest. Aaron's major interests are second language acquisition and pedagogy, particularly related to Japanese, and also in languages in general. In addition to his studies, Aaron enjoys developing his photography and cooking in his free time.
