2026 Asian Studies Student Symposium

Opening Remarks by Professor Trever McKay (B092 JFSB)

Session 1

Moderator: Professor Kirk Larsen

• Rachel Driggs, “Fox Spirits, Ghosts, and Gazetteers: Women in Late Imperial Chinese Fiction and History”
• Rebecca Dewitt, “Neo-Confucian Countercurrents: Female Autonomy in Jeju Myths”
• Beth Mitchell, “The Power of Beauty in Liu Xiang’s Lienu Zhuan: Understanding the Tensions Between Aesthetics, Female Virtue, and Political Power”

Moderator: Professor Shin Tsuchiya

• Kelsey Powell, “The Missing Fandom? Chinese Popular Media in American Mainstream Fan Culture”
• Ellis Ashton, “Disability, Caretakers, and Navigating Censorship in Contemporary Chinese Film”

Moderator: Professor Jung Inho

• Caroline Elliott, “Guns and Ships: Chosŏn Weaponry Developed For and Used in the Imjin War of 1592-1598”
• Quinci Rasband, “Mirrors of Industrialization: Taiwan and South Korea”
• Korynne Exon, “Adopting for God; Adopting Against Communism”

Moderator: Professor Michael Easterling

• Delaney Jennings, “A Glimpse Into Chinese Art Research at the MOA: Magu the Immortal”
• McKay Karpowitz, “The Lotus Flower”
• Bridger Kearns, “Finding Life’s Purpose: Recognizing the Opportunities Right in Front of You”

Session 2

Moderator: Professor Evan Ward

• Alexandra Jefferies, “Embodied teaching methods among Seon Buddhist practitioners”
• Mattson Peterson, “The effects of mindfulness and yoga practices on physical and mental health” 
• Jared Johnson, “For King and Koryǒ: Geomancy, Buddhist Temples, and Royal Authority”

Moderator: Professor Jon Felt

• Karlee Hoyal, “I Will Never Forget: Learning and Remembering Foot-Binding in Chinese History through Creative Composition”
• Jamie Lesser, “From Silence to Memory: Comfort Women and the Struggle Over History” 
• Isaac Hill, “Preserving Memories: Grassroots Methodologies and Technological Innovation in the Cambodian Oral History Project”

Moderator: Professor Clay Parker

• Oliver Rigby, “流暢さをゲットだぜ！Brain Activity During Japanese Pokémon Gameplay vs. Traditional Japanese Reading”
• Samuel Stewart, “Comparing Japanese and Western Narrative Structures in Video Games”
• Holli Anderson, “Adapting Intelligence: An Examination of Fidelity in The Apothecary Diaries Light Novel, Manga, and Anime”

Moderator: Professor Tim Davis

• Kate Bowers, “Two Brothers”
• Rozlyn NeVille Sun, “Four Faces of Regionalism in Modern Day Thailand”
• Hunter Banks, “From EDSA to Malacañang: The Marcos Family's Comeback”

Session 3

Moderator: Sarai Brown

• Kelsey Berges, “Piano Music and Political Ideology in Early PRC China: Compositional Responses in Works by Sang Tong and Ding Shande”
• Ronan Anderton, “An Analysis of French Cultural Influence in Vietnam Through Advertisements”
• CreeAnna Jackson, “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners by Hiroyuki Imaishi”

Moderator: Professor David Kenley

• Regan Danielson, “Helen Foster Snow: An Undeviating Devotion”
• Peter Larsen, “Self-Criticism to Self-Destruction: Micro-Cultural Revolution in the United Red Army”
• Safiya Pinnock, “Repurposing Confucianism: Mao’s use of Confucian Concepts in Revolutionary China”

Moderator: Professor Jonathan Jarvis

• William Ford, “Why Malaysia? The Political Economy of Capital Controls in the Wake of the Asian Financial Crisis”
• Joshua Bell, “Beyond Culture: The Institutional Roots of Japanese Brazilian Success”
• Ethan Nicoll, “Remittances and Unequal Education Investment in the Philippines”

Moderator: Professor Evan Ward

• Jayson Dean, “Philosophy Rooted in Japanese Soil”
• Brady Bigger, “The Cultural Logics of Freedom: A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study of Historical and Contemporary Perspectives in China and the United States”

Moderator: Professor Michael Easterling

• Everett Campbell, “Attached to a Story: The Tie-Up System in Japanese Music”
• Liesel Wynn, “Valuing Tradition and Embracing Innovation at the Awa Odori Festival”
• Ellowyn Gang, “Still Trot: An Enduring Tradition, an Evolving Sound”

Lunch (B135)

Keynote Speaker Sarai Brown, Closing Remarks, and Awards (B135)