Congratulations Class of 2020!

Advisor: Jane-Marie Law

"I have had the privilege of working with Caroline in several classes, traveling with her to Japan on three occasions, and advising her honors thesis. Seeing her development as a scholar and thinker in the field of Japanese art history and the material culture of the tea ceremony has been very inspiring.  One of my fondest memories working with Carolyn was happening upon an antique fabric store in Nara.  As we entered and she introduced herself to the curator of the shop, the two of them had a lively discussion about the kinds of fabrics that would later form a core of Carolyn’s thesis. She has a natural ability to perceive beauty in the delicate and transient materials of human culture.  In her work, I have gained a new appreciation for the ways in which people regard the fragile objects of the tea ceremony, namely fabrics, and how these stand for the ephemeral and the impermanent in remarkable ways. I feel like I have a new colleague and look forward to many opportunities to learn from her work in the future."

Advisor: Jane-Marie Law

"I am honored to have worked with Stephanie in several classes, traveled to Japan with her on three occasions and advising her honors thesis. It has been very gratifying to watch her emerge as a scholar of Japanese religions and art. Her work on the intersections between worship spaces and museum spaces has broken new ground in our understandings of Japanese religious expression and art preservation.  I will always remember a crisp, bright blue day in the spring of 2019 when she and her sister and I visited Hôryûji in Nara. The cherry blossom s were blooming and the day was perfect.  We felt as if this might have been the most beautiful spot in Japan at that moment.  As we walked out of the temple grounds, we happened upon a museum exhibition within the temple, displaying the objects from the temple.  I like to think it was here, on this jewel of a day that the idea for her thesis was born.  Stephanie is able to see the pathos with which people regard the objects of veneration. I regard her as a new colleague and know I will learn a great deal from her work in the future."

Advisor: Nick Admussen

"Autumn Chiu is a double-major in Asian Studies and English. A powerful and talented writer, she is revising her first novella, and recently completed a substantive research project on connections between North Korean authoritarianism and colonial trauma. After graduation, she plans to build aesthetic and social spaces for LGBT youth in Korea."

Advisor: Jane-Marie Law

"Rebecca Clark found her true passion in museum work and intends to enter the field of museum curation. It has been a pleasure working with Rebecca and watching her grow into a woman with a professional direction. Her interest is Isabella Gardner and the group of artists and writers who gathered in Boston during the latter part of the 19th century has taught me to look at Japanese collections in American museums with new eyes.  I look forward to watching her work unfold as she moves ahead with her career in museum work."

Advisor: Nick Admussen

"Christine is a double major in Asian Studies and Government who specializes in contemporary China. She matches extremely strong Mandarin language skills with a rich background in the global political contexts of Chinese life, and has plans to work and live abroad, likely in international relations or foreign affairs."

Advisor: Nick Admussen

"Lauren Goldstein is an Asian Studies major who specializes in contemporary China and has minors in Religious Studies, Near Eastern Studies, and Jewish Studies. She is a Phi Beta Kappa and the outgoing president of Cayuga's Watchers. Her strong language skills and facility with Chinese culture from faith to finance are taking her to a career in government consulting."

Advisor: Jane-Marie Law

"It was a pleasure working with Moon during her studies.  She did conscientious work and gained a true depth in her studies of Japanese and Japan.  I wish her the very best in her future endeavors."

Advisor: Jane-Marie Law

"I first met Travis in my Introduction to Japan class.  He always came up after class to discuss ideas. We met again the fall of his senior year, and in conversations, I discovered his passion for urban planning and systems of transportation.  It was clear that this passion would enable him to do important and meaningful work.  I am gratified to see him taking this next step and pursuing his interest in the UK at Oxford. I have always been impressed by his thoughtful demeanor and his generosity of spirit."

Advisor: Dan Gold

"Ana is a woman of diverse interests, practical as well as humanistic, but most ot all she liked studying religion. Her focus was Islam in its many modalities but she also paid attention to other religious traditions in Asia and beyond.  After reaching high levels in Arabic, she ventured into Indonesian after taking classes with Professor Formichi.  She was thus able to add an Asian Studies major to her major in Religious Studies.  Ana has a fine sense of self which she manifests in many ways, while being deeper than she often likes to appear."

Advisor: Arnika Fuhrmann

"Raven Schwam-Curtis is an Asian Studies and Feminism Gender and Sexuality Studies major (minoring in Africana Studies and Inequality Studies) who embarked on a combined intellectual, personal, and political journey during her time at Cornell. While continually sharpening her political acumen, Raven uncovered Afro-Asia connections across historical periods and a transnational terrain in research for her honors thesis, Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, and Rawlings Research Fellowship."

Advisor: Dan Gold

"Julianna brought perspectives from her Communications minor to her study of Indian film in an essay that earned her honors in Asian Studies.  That essay, on toxic masculinity in Bollywood film, argued from an active feminist point of view.  Her immediate plans after graduation stem from a commitment to work against inequality: she will be training in Special Education with Teach for America and then moving to Colorado Springs to work with underserved populations there. In class at Cornell, Julianna was often quiet, but when she speaks her mind, she can be amazing."

Advisor: Jane-Marie Law

"Roman has been a meticulous student who used his time at Cornell to both gain a solid foundation in Japanese history and culture, including excellence in Japanese language. I look forward to hearing about his future endeavors."

Advisor: Larry McCrea

"Anuush Vejalla is a double major in Biology and Asian Studies. Over the past four years he has taken a wide variety of courses on South Asian history, culture, literature, and philosophy, as well as completing two years study of Hindi. For Anuush, this engagement with Indian language, history, and culture has always been very far from merely an extra or an add-on to his more career-oriented major. From the beginning, he has sought to fully and creatively integrate his interests in South Asian studies with his broader intellectual and professional development, seriously confronting the question of how cultural and historical studies can and should impact the contemporary practice of science, medicine, and politics. This is reflected not only in Anuush's academic work but in his extensive community involvement. For the past several years, Anuush has been active in the Cornell South Asian Council and the Hindu Student Council, and has spearheaded an effort to hire a Hindu chaplain at Cornell to meet students' religious needs. In all, Anuush has been an important presence in Asian Studies at Cornell, intellectually, culturally, and socially. Beginning in 2018 he has done volunteer earthquake work in Nepal helping to construct sustainable, earthquake-resistant buildings. Throughout his time at Cornell, Anuush has been a valued member of the Cornell community, and the Asian Studies in particular. He is a great credit to our program, and will be sorely missed."

Advisor: Arnika Fuhrmann

"Betty Wang is an Asian Studies major who mined the possibilities of the field to broaden her intellectual, linguistic and cultural experiences. Whether on campus, during study abroad in Japan and Korea, or while interning in Hong Kong, Betty never failed actively to seek opportunities to experience different cultures, practice her languages, and build intellectual and social community. Her intellect and curiosity propelled her to pursue divergent scholarly fields and build a wealth of work and extracurricular experience."

Advisor: Arnika Fuhrmann

Honor's Thesis Advisor: Naoki Sakai

"Eunnuri was a great pleasure for me to have as an undergraduate student in a few of my courses. While my courses are open to both undergraduate and graduate students, its readings are selected mainly with first- or second-year graduate students in mind. She struggled at first, but I was pleasantly surprised that she managed to comprehend the readings and engage in classroom discussions so actively and this year was an outstanding presence in our courses. More than once she outshone graduate students in the class.

Her honor’s thesis impressed us so tremendously that we decided to grant it the highest honor possible – summa cum laude. I was so happy to have such a promising young student in my classes.

Congratulations!"