Current
2023 Assistant teaching professor of Japanese cultural studies, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Asian Studies Program, University at Buffalo, SUNY
2020 Co-founder & CEO of Japanese for Nikkei Inc (on temporary leave)
Academic Background
2019 PhD in Comparative Literature, Department of Modern Languages & Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
2014 Kadokawa Culture Promotion Foundation Media-Content Research Project, 2-Week Summer Program, University of Tokyo
2013 MA in Text/Community/Discourse, Department of English Language and Literature, Brock University
2012 MA in Popular Culture, Department of Communications, Popular Culture, and Film, Brock University
2010 BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature, Department of English Language and Literature, Minor in Applied Linguistics, Brock University
Teaching Experience
JAPANESE FOR NIKKEI INC.
2022 February - April, Heritage Language for Beginners, Parts 1, 2 and 3
2021 June - August, Heritage Language for Beginners, Part 2
2021 February - April, Heritage Language for Beginners, Part 1
2020 October - November, Japanese for Beginners Pilot course
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
2021 (Fall) Lecturer for Basic Japanese I (JAPAN 101), Sections 800 and 801, Department of East Asian Studies, University of Alberta, (delivered online)
2021 (Winter) Lecturer for Practical Translation (JAPAN 439), Department of East Asian Studies, University of Alberta
2021 (Winter) Lecturer for Basic Japanese II, (JAPAN 102), Department of East Asian Studies, University of Alberta
2020 (Fall) Lecturer for World Literature I (C LIT 101), Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University Alberta, (delivered online)
2020 (Fall) Lecturer for Basic Japanese I (JAPAN 101), Sections A04 and X03, Department of East Asian Studies, University of Alberta, (delivered online)
2020 (Winter) Lecturer for Popular Culture (C LIT 228), Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
2020 (Winter) Lecturer for Basic Japanese II (JAPAN 102), Department of East Asian Studies, University of Alberta
2019 (Fall) Lecturer for Japanese - English Translation (JAPAN 429), Department of East Asian Studies, University of Alberta
2018 (Winter) Lecturer for Basic Japanese II (JAPAN 102), Department of East Asian Studies, University of Alberta
2017 (Fall) Lecturer for World Literature I (C LIT 101), Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
2017 (Summer) Lecturer for Science Fiction (C LIT 242) Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
2017 (Winter) Lecturer for Sherlock Holmes & the Transcultural Imagination (MLCS 299), Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
2016 (Fall) Lecturer for World Literature I (C LIT 101), Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
2016 (Winter) Lecturer for World Literature II (C LIT 102), Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
OTHER TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2010-2011 English Language instructor for iTTTi Japan, Co. Ltd., Nagoya, Japan
2008-2010 English Language instructor for SSEN Learning Centre, St Catharines, Ontario Canada
2006-2007 Volunteer, Instructor, Japanese Language School, Niagara Falls
Teaching Awards
2021 Covid-19 Remote Teaching Award ($1000)
2020 Faculty of Arts Unit Teaching Award, Japanese Language Program
Editorial Board
2019- 2021 Managing Editor, The Polyglot Magazine, Edmonton, Alberta.
2019-ongoing English Board, The Journal of Replaying Japan, Ritsumeikan University
2014 (Winter) Editorial Assistant, Canadian Review of Comparative Literature/ Revue Canadienne de Littérature Comparée, University of Alberta
Research & Teaching
Assistant Experience
2019-2021 Research Assistant for Dr. Ben Whaley on a SSHRC funded project, “Sketching Semitism: Exploring Jewish identity in Postwar Manga”
2014-2015 Research Assistant for Dr. Geoffrey Rockwell and Dr. Mia Consalvo
2015 (Fall) Graduate Teaching Assistant for MLCS 199 (Super Heroes in Comics and Beyond), Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
2012-2013 (Fall-Winter) Graduate Teaching Assistant for COMM 1F90 (Introduction to Communication and Media) Department of Communications, Popular Culture, and Film, Brock University
2012-2013 (Fall-Winter) Graduate Teaching Assistant for ENGL 1F95 (Literature in English: Forms, Themes and Approaches), Brock University
2012 (Summer 3 week term) Research Assistant for Dr. Ann Howey, Department of English Language and Literature, Brock University
2011-2012 (Fall-Winter) Graduate Teaching Assistant for COMM 1F90 (Introduction to Communication and Media) Department of Communications, Popular Culture, and Film, Brock University
2000-2004 Volunteer, Teaching assistant, Nisshū Gakuin Japanese School, Toronto
Academic Awards
INTERNAL AWARDS
2019 The José R. Varela Memorial Travel Grant ($250.00) 2018 Profiling Alberta's Graduate Students Award ($1,480) 2017 President’s Doctoral Prize of Distinction ($5, 800) 2016 President’s Doctoral Prize of Distinction ($5, 700) 2015 President’s Doctoral Prize of Distinction ($5,700) 2014 President’s Doctoral Prize of Distinction ($10,000) 2014 The José R. Varela Memorial Travel Grant ($250.00) 2013 Dean of Graduate Studies Spring Research Fellowship ($3,000) 2013 Marilyn J. Rose Award for Academic Excellence in English Language and Literature ($2,439.07) 2013 Kenneth Frederick White Memorial Graduate Scholarship ($4,740.12)
2012 Dean of Graduate Studies Research Fellowship ($2000.00) 2012 Graduate Fellowship ($7000.00) 2011 Graduate Fellowship ($6000.00) 2010 Dean’s Honour List 2005 Dean’s Honour List
EXTERNAL AWARDS
2014 -2018 SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship ($80, 000.00) 2012 The Michael Schoenecke Travel Grant for Graduate Students for Popular Culture Association/American Cultural Association National Conference, Boston, USA ($300.00) 2005 Placed second at the 23rd Annual Ontario Japanese Speech Contest, Open Category, University of Toronto ($250.00)
Interpreter
2014 Interpreter for Tomohiro Nishikado (Keynote Speaker), “Innovation at the Dawn of Japanese Video Games: Speed Race to Space Invaders”, Replaying Japan 2014: The 2nd International Japan Game Studies Conference, University of Alberta
Certifications
2015 Certificate of intermediate proficiency in Mandarin, Chinese Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì (Level 3), issued by the Chinese National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (NOTCFL)
2008 Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL), Oxford Seminars
Literary Organizations
2021 Member, The Shaka Sherlockians of Hawaii
2020 Board Member, Toronto Bootmakers of Toronto: The Sherlock Holmes Society of Canada
2019 Member, Japan Sherlock Holmes Club
2017- 2020 Member, The Wisteria Lodgers-The Sherlock Holmes Society of Edmonton
Interviews & Podcasts
2022 Invited Interviewer, Toronto International of Authors' Crime & Mystery Festival, “Interview with Fuminori Nakamura, focusing on the book My Annihilation,” Toronto, Canada.
2021 Excalibur #18: "Wild Wild Wheels" THE OH GOSH, OH GOLLY, OH WOW! PODCAST, By Drs. Anna Peppard and J. Andrew Deman, and Christopher "Mav" Maverick (Ph.D. Candidate)
2020 Episode 4: Teaching Remotely Series - Teaching Languages and Literature Remotely with Mimi Okabe, Centre for Teaching and Learning podcast series, University of Alberta
2018 “What do Black Holes Represent in Science Fiction?,” ASTRO 101: Black Holes, By Dr. Sharon Morsink
2018 “How are Black Holes Portrayed in Japanese Popular Culture?,” ASTRO 101: Black Holes, By Dr. Sharon Morsink
Invited Talks
2022 “Teen Killers Undercover: Shōnen Hanzai and the Rise of the Boy Detective in Manga of the Heisei Era,” Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, University of Delaware
2022 (Winter), “Understanding Japanese Detective Manga: Teens, Traditions & Themes,” JAPANESE 2X03 - Japanese Anime, Department of Religious Studies, McMaster University
2021 Invited Moderator, “Parallel Worlds: Translators Behind the Scenes Interview with author Eto Mori & translator Jocelyne Allen,” Japan Foundation, Toronto
2019 Toronto Bootmakers of Toronto: The Sherlock Holmes Society of Canada, “From Wiggins and Beyond: Representations of the Unofficial Force in Japanese Popular Culture,” Toronto, Canada
2017 Jane Austen Society of North America-Edmonton Region
2016 “Lolita & the City: Crossroads between Youth Culture & Fashion,” Organized by the Fashion Culture Network and supported and funded by the Human Ecology's Clothing & Textiles Collection, University of Alberta
2014 “SSHRC Success Stories,” Kule Institute for Advanced Study, Advancing Humanity Lifting the Human Spirit, University of Alberta
2014 Press Start Gaming Conference: Culture, Industry, and Innovation in Japanese Gaming, Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia
Campus & Departmental Talks
2021 Guest Lecturer, “Navigating Tokyo through Fashion: Youth Identity and the Rise of Girl Cultures,” Literature and the Other Arts (C LIT 352), University of Alberta
2021 (fall) Invited Speaker, “Japanese Pop Culture, The 1990s and Youth,” JAPANESE 2X03 - Japanese Anime, McMaster University
2021 (winter) Invited Speaker, “How to Turn Your Passion into a Research Project,” JAPANESE 2X03 - Japanese Anime, McMaster University
2020 Invited Speaker, “Work Smarter not Harder: Tips on How to Stay Afloat in the “Publish-or-Perish-World” as a Former Grad Student,” Academic and Professional Writing (MLCS 797), University of Alberta
2020 Keynote Speaker, “Refashioning Diversity: Reflections on Institutional Prejudice in Higher Education,” MLCS Graduate Student Conference 2020: (En)Forced-(Mis)Connections, University of Alberta
2019 Guest Lecturer (Skype), “The Question of Okyō’s Choice: The Heroine of Higuchi Ichiyō’s “Separate Ways,”” World Literature (C LIT 102), University of Alberta
2018 Guest Lecturer, “Adapting Irene Adler in the 21st Century: An Introduction,” Adaptations of Literary Classics (ENG 385), University of Alberta
2017 Invited Speaker, “Manga, Murder & Mystery: Mapping the Boundaries of Detective Fiction,” Prince Takamado Japanese Centre for Teaching & Research, University of Alberta
2016 Round Table Discussion, Street Style: Tokyo Street Fashion, Havana, Moscow, New York, Tokyo, MLCS Lecture Series, University of Alberta
2016 Round Table Discussion, Comics-Medium in the Museum: What a Challenge!, Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
2016 Guest lecturer, “Cyber-literature, Women & Game Culture,” Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
2015 Guest lecturer, “Manga, Post-Apocalyptic Narrative, and Akira,” Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
2015 Guest lecturer, “From Trina Robbin’s ‘The Great Women Superheroes,’” Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
2012 Guest lecturer, “Bryan O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim, Globalisation and Youth Culture,” Department of English Language and Literature, Brock University
2010 Guest lecturer, “My ‘Japanese’ Experience,” Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Brock University
Pedagogical Training & Workshops
2020 Invited speaker, “How to Master the Tools of Your Trade: A Workshop on Creating Your Dream Toolkit for Online Teaching!” Creative Pedagogies Series, Department of Modern Languages & Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
2020, Invited speaker, MLCS Workshop Remote Language Instruction, University of Alberta
2019 Attendee, Teacher Workshop, Reflecting on Kanji Instruction: How kanji can be learned particular to a classroom environment, “振り返ろう！振り返ろう!漢字教育―教室でこそできる漢字学習に向けて,” Department of East Asian Studies, University of Toronto
2019 Attendee, Teaching Japanese Basics, “音声について学ぶ,” 3-class workshop delivered by Dr. Yukiko Yoshizumi, The Japan Foundation, Toronto
2017 Facilitator, “Beyond Gender & Race: How to Promote a Healthy Classroom in Post-secondary Institutions,” Faculty of Graduate Studies & Research, University of Alberta
2017 Invited speaker, “Road to Success: Secrets of Writing Grant Proposals,” MLCS 795: Grant Writing Module Course, Department of Modern Languages & Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
2017 Level III of Graduate Teaching & Learning Program, Pedagogy & Course Design, six-week intensive course, University of Alberta
2017 Level II of Graduate Teaching & Learning Program, University of Alberta
2016 Level I of Graduate Teaching & Learning Program, University of Alberta
Exam Committee
2021 Internal Examiner, Dongyue Wu, University of Alberta
Academic Service
2020 Program Committee of DiGRA 2020, the Digital Games Research Association, Tampere, Finland
2019 Abstract reviewer, Digital Games Research Association Japan (DiGRA Japan), Kyoto, Japan
2018 Commentator, Annual Connections Conference: Transcending Connections, University of Alberta
2017 Proctor, Japanese Language Proficiency Test, Prince Takamado Centre for Teaching & Research, University of Alberta
2016 Abstract reviewer, Creative Connections Graduate Student Conference, Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
2015 Co-creator, University of Alberta’s Comics Club, Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
2014 (Fall) Member, Department Council, Graduate Student Representative, Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Alberta
2014 Manuscript Reviewer, International Journal of Gaming and Computer Mediated Simulations
2012 Member, Hiring Committee, Tenure-Track Position in Rhetoric and Theory, Department of English Language and Literature, Brock University
2011 Volunteer, Two Days of Canada 2011: Canadian Studies, Canadian Stories Conference, Department of Communications Popular Culture and Film, Brock University
Professional Memberships
2021- ongoing Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers (CASL)
2021-ongoing Canadian Association for Japanese Language Education (CAJLE)
2019-ongoing Association for Asian Studies (AAS)
2019-ongoing Canadian Comparative Literature Association (CCLA)
2018-ongoing Member, British Association for Japanese Studies (BAJS)
2016-ongoing Organizing Committee, Replaying Japan
2016-ongoing Member, Canadian Society for the Study of Comics (CSSC) (Advisory Committee Member as of 2019)
2016-2018 Member, Graduate Teaching and Learning Circle, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Alberta
2012 Member, Humanities Research Institute, Graduate Student Associate Status, Brock University
Conference Presentations
Panels Organized
2021 (May) “Mentor-morphosis: Navigating through Cycles of Learning and Self Exploration in Higher Ed,” the University of Calgary Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching, Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, University of Calgary, Alberta (ONLINE)
2018 (May) “Breaking the Mold: Manga & the Politics of Identity,” 5th Annual Canadian Society for the Study of Comics (CSSC), Toronto, Ontario
Invited Panels
2022 (June) Invited Panel, “Canonizing Jane Austen in Canadian Shōjo Manga: Context, Form and Themes” in “Can-ga: Canadian manga, the fourth solitude in Canada? Asian-Canadian comics and its connections between comics, manga and/or BD in Canada,” American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA), Taiwan (online)
2021 (March) “Method in Madness: Detecting Disability in Japanese Detective Video Games,” Association for Asian Studies, Boston, United States (ONLINE)
2019 (June) “The City as Playground: Boy Detectives, Crime and Urban Space,” Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Division of The Canadian Comparative Literature Association (CCLA), Video Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
2018 (September) “Global Crime Fighters: Detecting Japan’s ‘Crisis’ of Identity in Daigyakuten Saiban 1 & 2,” British Association for Japanese Studies (BAJS), Sheffield, England.
Papers Presented
2022 (forthcoming) “(Un)Learning Japanese: Paving a Path for Language Justice for Nikkei Learners of Japanese,” American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), Boston, USA, (online)
2022 (August) “Teaching against the Grain: Antiracist Pedagogical Approaches in a Global Nikkei Community of Japanese language Learners (グローバル時代における日系人のための日本語と反人種差別的な教育アプローチ),” Canadian Association for Japanese Language Education (CAJLE), Canada, (online)
2022 (June) “The Visual Culture of Japanese Diaspora: Drawing Race, Identity and Home in Three Canadian Graphic Novels,” Academic Symposium: Histories & Futures of Comics Communities, Toronto Comic Arts Festival, Toronto, Canada
2021 (November) “Strangers in a Multicultural Nation: Reclaiming Language in the Nikkei Community.” Reconciling Multiculturalism in Today’s Canada, Edmonton, Canada. (Watch online).
2021 (August) “On Designing Curriculum for Nikkei: Cultural Politics, Pitfalls and Potentialities「日系人」のための日本語 カリキュラム 設計:文化的政策の可能性と危険性.” Canadian Association for Japanese Language Education. Edmonton, Canada. (Watch online).
2021 (August) Amano Keiji, Rockwell Geoffrey and Okabe Tsugumi. “Moral Management in Japanese Game Companies,”9th Annual Replaying Japan Conference, Edmonton, Canada (online).
2020 (August) Amano Keiji, Rockwell Geoffrey and Okabe Tsugumi. “Ethics and Gaming: A Content Analysis of Annual Reports of the Japanese Game Industry,”8th Annual Replaying Japan Conference, Liège, Belgium (online).
2017 (August) “The Game is Afoot: Transmedia Storytelling in Japanese Sherlockian Video games,” 5th Annual Replaying Japan Conference, Rochester, United States of America.
2016 (August) “Harnessing the Power of Persuasion: Strategies towards Increasing Women’s Participation in Japan’s Game Industry,” 4th Annual Replaying Japan Conference, Leipzig, Germany.
2016 (May) “Tracking the Boy Sleuth in Shōnen Tantei Manga,” Canadian Society for the Study of Comics (CSSC), Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
2015 (May) “From Past to Present: The Transformation of Detective Fiction to Detective Manga," Canadian Society for the Study of Comics (CSSC), Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
2015 (May) “Trapped by Myths of Motherhood(?): The Crisis of Female Game Developers in Japan,” 3rd Annual Replaying Japan Conference, Kyoto, Japan.
2014 (August) “Unreal Men: Bishonen and Rape Fantasy in Japanese Boys’ Love Games,” 2nd Replaying Japan Conference, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
2014 (May) “From Pain to Pleasure: An Exploration of Rape Fantasy in Japanese Boys’ Love Visual Novel Games,” Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Division of the Canadian Game Studies Association (CGSA), St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
2014 (March) “Narrating Nation: A Cross-Cultural Exploration of the Child Detective in Japanese Manga and Western Children’s Detective Fiction,” The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA), Orlando, Florida, USA
2013 (April) “Jane Austen in Translation: Sisterhood in Reiko Mochizuki’s Sense and Sensibility” Popular Culture Association American Culture Association (PCA/ACA), Washington D.C, USA
2012 (May) “From Stilettos to Book: Redefining Female Agency in Masato Fujisaki’s Misaki Number One,” 2nd Annual Popular Culture Association of Canada, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
2012 (April) “Pixie Dust and Crime: A Revision of the Puer Aeternus in Aoyama’s Detective Conan” Popular Culture Association American Culture Association (PCA/ACA), Boston