Faculty and Staff

B.A. University of Georgia, 1999 (Comparative Literature)
M.A. Columbia University, 2004 (Modern Chinese Literature)
Ph.D. Harvard University, 2012 (Modern Chinese Literature)

Andy joined the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures in 2012. His research focuses primarily on Chinese-language literature, film, and other popular media. His current book project, tentatively titled Crowd Spectacular: Conjuring the Masses in Modern China, foregrounds the imagination, representation, and circulation of crowd images in China as a mode of cultural production pivotal to the ideological construction of the political masses. Andy’s other research interests include the development of cinematic new waves in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China, the musical, cultural and technological legacies of the pop singer Teresa Teng, and the globalization of Chinese martial arts through narrative.

B.A. Beijing Language and Culture University, 2010 (English)
M.A. Beijing Language and Culture University, 2013 (Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages)
Ph.D. Georgia State University, 2018 (Applied Linguistics)

Ziyi Geng joined the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Wake Forest University in 2022. She obtained her M.A. in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages at Beijing Language and Culture University and her Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics at Georgia State University. Her research interests include Chinese language pedagogy, instructional technology, community-based language learning, and language teacher education. She has taught all levels of Chinese language courses and holds a special interest in developing technology-enhanced and authentic communicative tasks in class and in the target language communities. She also enjoys organizing cultural activities and events to immerse students in the diverse culture of Chinese-speaking countries and regions. Besides teaching, Ziyi has served as a program consultant and trainer for local and global Chinese language programs and the STARTALK Chinese teacher training program.

LL.B. Keio University (Political Science)
M.A. San Francisco State University (Humanities)
Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles (Asian Languages and Cultures)

Mari Ishida joined the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Wake Forest University in 2019. She received Ph.D. in Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles, with a concentration in Modern Japanese literature and cultural studies, and taught Japanese literature, film, culture, and translation as an assistant adjunct professor at UCLA. Prior to her appointment at Wake Forest, she was a postdoctoral fellow in the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University. Mari’s research and teaching interests include Japanophone/Japanese literature, film, popular culture, gender and sexuality, postcolonial and decolonial studies and theories. Mari is currently working on the academic monograph, which examines the function of literature in the discursive production of multiethnic ideologies in the Japanese Empire from the 1920s to the 1940s.

B.A. Seinan Gakuin University (English)
M.A. Ohio University Athens (Applied Linguistics)

Yasuko came to Wake Forest in 1998 and has taught Japanese language courses at all levels. Her areas of interest are second language acquisition, language pedagogy, and curriculum development. Yasuko enjoys teaching and keeps current in the field through active involvement in a number of professional organizations. She received the 2020 Higher Education Teacher of the Year from the Foreign Language Association of North Carolina. She is also a recipient of the 2018 WFU CAT Innovative Teaching Award. Yasuko has taken leadership roles at state, regional, and national levels, and is currently serving on the board of directors of the American Association of Teachers of Japanese.

B.A. Shanghai Foreign Languages Institute
M.A. Clark University
Ph.D. Indiana University

Yaohua joined Wake Forest in 2002. He received his doctorate in Comparative Literature from Indiana University. His research interests include early twentieth-century Chinese modernism, pre-modern Chinese vernacular fiction, and East–West cultural relations. He has published in Chinese vernacular literature, film, and architecture. He is co-editor of The Silk Roads: From Local Realities to Global Narratives and co-translator of Yang Jiang’s novel Baptism. He also co-authored the Chinese language textbook series Integrated Chinese, currently in its fourth edition. He has taught all levels of Chinese language and courses in Chinese literature, film, and East Asian cultures. He also serves on the advisory board of the Lam Museum of Anthropology.

Ph.D. The Ohio State University, 2017 (Japanese Linguistics and Pedagogy)

Kanako received her PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures from the Ohio State University, where she developed expertise in Japanese linguistics and language pedagogy. She has been also involved in training future foreign language teachers in the Alliance for Language Learning and Educational Exchange (ALLEX). She serves as the Director of Japanese Teacher Training and the Japanese Language Program. 

Kanako’s scholarship has grown alongside of her enjoyment of teaching. Her research interest lies at interactional sociolinguistics, pragmatics, intercultural competence, second language acquisition, and language pedagogy. She takes special interest in examining cultural convention in conflict strategies in a Japanese enterprise setting. Kanako is a certified ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview Tester of Japanese and ACTFL Written Proficiency Tester of Japanese. 

B.A. Beijing Foreign Studies University (Teaching Chinese as a Second Language)
M.A. Peking University (Chinese Linguistics and Philology; specialization in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language)
Ph.D. University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (Chinese Linguistics and Pedagogy)

Qiaona joined Wake Forest in 2016. She has previously taught courses at all levels of Mandarin language and Business Chinese in the States and China. Her research specializes in the intersection between Chinese linguistics and second language acquisition and currently focuses on defining, assessing, and developing Chinese syntactic complexity. She is particularly interested in task-based language education, language for specific purposes, and cognitive linguistics.

http://qiaonayu.weebly.com

B.A. Winston-Salem State University                                                                                        M.A. Full Sail University

Jo Lowe is the Instructional Technologist for the Department of Communication, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and Debate. She has supported educational technologies for WFU academic departments for over 20 years. Jo has received several certifications, training certificates, accreditations, and degrees in technology from Microsoft, Adobe and a master’s degree in Educational Media and Design. Jo works with video graphics, music, lighting, programming,VR/AR  and exploring new technologies.  Jo relaxes by watching Sci Fi and Marvel movies, crafting, gaming, playing/listening to music or just hanging out with her pets!

Kimberly is delighted to be able to support the students, faculty, and staff of East Asian Languages and Cultures. As a longtime student of the Tao and of martial arts, she finds the subject matter of our department particularly engaging. Kimberly joined the EALC office in 2024, bringing with her over twenty-five years of combined experience in both administrative and classroom support. Since 2015, Kimberly has served as the Administrative Coordinator for the WFU Humanities Institute.

Kimberly’s EALC role includes assisting the Chair in managing the day-to-day operations of the EALC Office, budget reporting, scheduling courses, and coordinating and implementing a range of department programs.

Kimberly is a lifelong musical theatre performer, having worked from New York to Florida in musical theatre, opera and operetta, with additional performance experience in a wide range of American song and dance styles. Kimberly loves to spend time with her family, cook, work in the garden, and challenge herself with continued musical study and development. Please stop by Kimberly’s office in Carswell 022 to ask for help, or just to chat!