I study all aspects and time-periods of Japanese history, although I am primarily interested in early-Meiji political and social history.  I started my education at Oregon State University, earning bachelor degrees in History and International Studies in 2005, before coming down to Eugene to attend the University of Oregon.  While here, I earned a post-baccalaureate degree in Japanese language in 2007, before finishing my MA degree in September, 2008, with my Masters thesis, entitled "Tracks to Teito: The Tokyo Train Network and the Meiji Quest for Domestic Hegemony and International Recognition."

Now, as a PhD Candidate, I have become interested in modern Korean history and issues arising from Japanese colonialism and imperialism.  I look forward to exploring these subjects in my doctoral dissertation, tentatively titled "Empire By Design: State-formation and Empire Building in Early Meiji Japan," which will examine Japanese manipulation of railways, architecture, and city planning in order to consolidate national and colonial peripheries under central government hegemony.  Research for my dissertation will be conducted in Japan next year under the auspices of a Fulbright Fellowship and an affiliation at Hosei University, Tokyo. 

I have one published article, entitled "A Reexamination of the 'Shock of Hiroshima': The Japanese Bomb Programs and the Surrender Decision," which was published in volume 12 of the Journal of American-East Asian Relations.  Although listed as the Fall-Winter edition for 2003, the volume was published in 2008. This article received the 2008 Frank B. Gibney Student Essay Award offered by the Journal of American-East Asian Relations.

As a Graduate Teaching Fellow (GTF) I have either taught or graded for the following classes:

• Fall 2007: HST 240, "War in the Modern World" with Dr. Dracobly
• Winter 2008: HST 105, "World History II: Early Modern" with Dr. McNeely
• Spring 2008: HST 192, "Japan: Past & Present" with Dr. Hanes
• Spring 2009: HST 192, "Japan: Past & Present" with Dr. Hanes
• Fall 2009: HST 240, "War in the Modern World" with Dr. Dracobly
• Winter 2010: HST 191, "China: Past & Present" with Dr. Schwintzer
• Spring 2010: HST 192, "Japan: Past & Present," with Dr. Hanes

This summer I am teaching HST 399: "Hiroshima, History, Memory and Myth" during zero week, 6/14-6/19.