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Research / Areas of Expertise
- Digital new media
- Animated film
- Japanese film
Welcome! I’m the Film Studies Program’s resident specialist in digital and new media studies. I joined ³Ô¹ÏÍø in 2011, and teach courses on the Animated Film, Digital New Media, Japanese Film, Japanese Science Fiction, and Audience and Film Fandom, among others.
Prior to joining ³Ô¹ÏÍø, I completed my PhD in English and Film Studies at the University of Manitoba in 2011, with a dissertation on transcultural animation fan communities. I received my MA in English from Queen’s University in 2006 and my BA in Honours English from Dalhousie University in 2004. .
My research focuses primarily on global animation, especially Japanese and Korean works. A recurring theme throughout my work is the idea of "connection," and how media connect (or disconnect) us from each other.
My first book, Anime Fan Communities: Transcultural Flows and Frictions (2014), explored how people find connections across national and cultural differences through anime fandom.
I am also interested in theories of perception in film and media, and how animation can reconnect us to our embodied senses and experiences. These ideas are explored in my second book, The Flesh of Animation (2024).
Currently I am working on a third book about the unique visual style of Japanese animator and director Yuasa Masaaki, under contract with Bloomsbury Press' Animation: Key Films/Filmmakers series.
In general, I’m interested in the areas of contemporary film theory, media studies, fan studies, anime and manga studies, Japanese film and popular culture, media globalization, and postcolonial studies.
- SSHRC Exchange Grant (2024).
- WLU Book Preparation Grant (2014).
- WLU Office of Research Services Internal Grant (2012).
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science/SSHRC study abroad fellowship (2010).
- SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship (2006-9).
- SSHRC CGS Master’s Scholarship (2004-5).
I am willing to supervise graduate students in the areas of film and media theory, film and gaming, animated film history and technologies, Japanese cinema, and digital cinema.
Please note that while my research interests include postcolonial studies and Japanese popular culture, I am not able to supervise dissertations on postcolonial literature or Asian literature, since my main area is in film.
Books:
- Forthcoming: Yuasa Masaaki: From Chibi Maruko-chan to Science SARU. London: Bloomsbury, 2030.
- The Flesh of Animation: Bodily Sensations in Film and Digital Media. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2024.
- Anime Fan Communities: Transcultural Flows and Frictions. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
Articles:
- Forthcoming: "Phenomenology." Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Animation Studies, vol. 3: Theories, Methods, Contexts, ed. Deborah Levitt and Heather Warren-Crow. London: Bloomsbury.
- Sandra Annett and Akiko Sugawa-Shimada. "Introduction." Mechademia: Second Arc 15.2 (2023): 1-7.
- “What Can a Vocaloid Do? The Kyara as Body without Organs.” Mechademia 10 (2015): 163-177.
- “Nostalgic Remediation in Hugo and Paprika." The Journal of Adaptation in Film and Performance 7.2 (2014): 169-180.
- “New Media Beyond Neo-Imperialism: Betty Boop and Sita Sings the Blues.” The Journal of Postcolonial Writing 49.5 (2013): 565-581.
- “Imagining Transcultural Fandom: Animation and Global Media Communities.” Transcultural Studies 2 (2011): 164-88.
FS102: Film and the Image
FS103: Film and Genre
FS239: Japanese Film
FS270: The Animated Film
FS280: Audiences and Film Fandom
FS345: Film Theory and Mass Media
FS348: Film Theory in the Digital Age
FS444g: Japanese Science Fiction
EN692f: The Graphic Narrative Adaptation Film (graduate level)
Contact Info:
Office location: DAWB 3-159
Office hours: Office hours vary by term. Please email me for current office hours.
Languages spoken: English, French, Japanese