Beginning in 2021-2022, the Center welcomes Postdoctoral Fellows in Japanese Studies for appointments spanning the academic year. Postdoctoral Fellows teach three courses over the academic year and participate in Center events and related activities at U-M. Their research can cover any historical period of Japan—including contemporary Japan—and involve any academic discipline in the humanities and social sciences.
Postdoctoral Fellows 2022-23
Jessica A. Fernández de Lara Harada
CJS Postdoctoral Fellow | jesshara@umich.edu
Jessica A. Fernández de Lara Harada completed her doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom. Her doctoral research examined the overlooked historical experiences of Mexicans of Japanese origin across five generations in relation to the 'mestizo' racial system, citizenship and state violence, as well as repertoires of resistance in Mexico. This study built upon her master’s dissertation on graphic novel representations of mestizaje, the positioning of afro-descendants, and the operation of race and racism in Mexico from a transnational lens. Her research interests include trans-pacific history, nation-state building, and colonial formations in Mexico and Japan. Previously, Jessica completed an MA in Latin American Studies (with Distinction) at University College London, and a BA (First Class Honours) in Law at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. She was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Historical Studies at El Colegio de México; co-founder of the CRASSH Research Group 'Power and Vision: The Camera as Political Technology'; and co-organiser of the conference Memories in Transit, supported by The Centre for the Study of Global Human Movement, at the University of Cambridge, and the British Academy.
Ryan M. Yokota
CJS Postdoctoral Fellow | rmyokota@umich.edu
Ryan Masaaki Yokota has served as an Instructor in the History Department and Critical Ethnic Studies Program at DePaul University in Chicago, IL. He received his PhD in East Asian - Japanese History at the University of Chicago and his MA in Asian American Studies at UCLA. His areas of expertise are in modern Japanese and Okinawan history, East Asian history, Asian American Studies, the history of Asians in Latin America, theories of nationalism, and comparative global ethnic/race studies. His most recent publication is a book chapter titled “Reversion-Era Proposals for Okinawan Regional Autonomy” in Rethinking Postwar Okinawa: Beyond American Occupation, edited by Hiroko Matsuda and Pedro Iacobelli, and published by Lexington Books. Prior publications included an Amerasia Journal article titled “The Okinawan (Uchinanchu) Indigenous Movement and its Implications for Intentional/International Action;” and a book chapter “Ganbateando: The Peruvian Nisei Association and Okinawan Peruvians in Los Angeles” in Transnational Crossroads: Remapping the Americas and the Pacific, edited by Camilla Fojas and Rudy P. Guevarra Jr., from the University of Nebraska Press.
