Recent Senior Theses

The senior thesis represents the culmination of the undergraduate curriculum at Princeton. For students in the Department of East Asian Studies, the thesis should be an original contribution to scholarship on East Asia, based at least in part on source materials in the student's language of specialization.

EAS undergraduate library
Class of 2022
Class Year Author Title Advisor
2022 Felicity Audet The Perception of Difference: Combating Cultural Consciousness of Mental Illness within Contemporary Japanese Society James Raymo
2022 David Haemisegger The Russian Tea Mystery: A Translation of Arisugawa Alice’s Roshia Kōcha no Nazo Amy BorovoyYukari Tokumasu
2022 Edelyn Lau “Shanghai’s Seasonal Fantasy”: An Analysis of Select Foreign Terms in Mu Shiying’s “Shanghai de jijiemeng” via Translation Anna M. Shields
2022 Kisara Moore “Skinships,” “Shutter Chances,” and “Speeding Down”: Janglish as a Reconceptualization of Japanese Cultural Identity Through the Lens of Entertainment Media Steven Chung
2022 Braulio Romero Bakker An In-Depth Analysis of The State of Cryptocurrency in China Joshua Freeman
2022 Jaylin Spruill Sublime Sensoria: Somaesthetic Sensations and Sensitivities in East Asian Cinema Franz Prichard
2022 Zeytun West Kpop and Islam in Turkey: The Pious Generation and the Heathen’s Music Ksenia Chizhova
2022 Peter Yang Infected and Deviant: Korean Netizen Responses to Early COVID-19 Outbreaks Steven Chung
2022 John Zepke Dishonor of Kings: The Monetization of Aesthetic in Contemporary Digital Media Paize Keulemans
Class of 2021
Class Year Author Title Advisor
2021 Madeline Wu HEARD, BUT NOT SEEN: An Exploration of East Asian Representation through Music in American Musical Theater from the 1950s to the Present Erin Huang
2021 Sergio Serna Protecting the Little Guy: A Confucian Perspective on Conceptions of Intellectual Authorship and Exchange during Song Dynasty China Xin Wen
2021 Louison Sall One Belt - Many Roads: The People's Republic of China's Rhetoric Surrounding the Silk Road and the Minzu (民族) That Helped Build It Xin Wen
2021 Samuel Choi Juingong: Examining Reader-Character Interaction in Korean Webtoons Steven Chung
2021 Reginald Quartey “Where Are They Now?”: Analyzing Depictions and Perceptions of the Monstrous in Online Chinese Fantasy Novels Federico Marcon
2021 Morgana McGrath "Korea's Online Persona" Steven Chung
2021 Alec Leng Kikuchi Kan and Prewar Film Atsuko Ueda
Class of 2020
Class Year Author Title Advisor
2020 Sofie Kim Fashion and Upheaval: Bottom-up Creations of Intimacies in East Asia Ksenia Chizhova
2020 Leanna Nguyen The Growth of Ed-Tech Under China's Market Education System Chih-p'ing Chou & Jennifer Jennings
2020 Cecilia Vergara Have you eaten?: Analyzing young Korean women’s relationship with food in K-Dramas and its intersection with K-Pop and K-Beauty Amy Borovoy
2020 Jacob Williams Re-Queering Utena: Localized and Global Queerness in the Anime Series Revolutionary Girl Utena Brian Steininger
2020 Seth Paternostro Tasting Communism: Comrade Cookery and the Politics of Eating in Mao’s China, 1949-1965 He Bian
2020 Soyeong Park Assembling This Corean Body Franz Prichard
2020 Brandon Mintzer An Objective Identity: The Role of the National Palace Museum in the ROC and Taiwanese Narratives Guangchen Chen & Anna M. Shields
2020 Natalie Nagorski Do Women Still Hold Up Half the Sky? An Analysis of Female Representation in the Contemporary Political Landscape in China Anna M. Shields & Joshua Freeman
2020 Coby Goldberg Knowing Subjects and Known Objects: The Disappearance of the Individual in Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction Paize Keulemans
2020 Eunice Kim Those Who Have Eyes to See, Let Them See: Examining Media Representations of the “Comfort Women” Issue Atsuko Ueda
2020 Isabella Chung Southeast and East Asian Documentary Films: The Responsibility of Filming Violence Erin Huang
2020 Michael Kamsky China’s Mismanagement of Medical Supply Chains: Analyzing Inefficiencies and Identifying Solutions for the Blood and N95 Mask Supply Chains Sheldon Garon
Class of 2019
Class Year Author Title Advisor
2019 Sophie Wheeler (Re)Constructing Tohoku: Iterations of Tabi in Post-March 11th, Tohoku Japan Franz Prichard
2019 Kai Liu Modeling Minorities and Model Majorities: Picturing Neoliberal Commodities in the film Crazy Rich Asians Paul Nadal, Erin Huang, & Franz Prichard
2019 Faith Garcia “The Blood Soaked Cry of Those Who Seek Revenge / is Ringing in The Sky Over Sinchon”: An Analysis of the Portrayal of the Sinchon Massacre in North Korean Propaganda Steven Chung
2019 Ashley Berland Japan’s Brand of Entrepreneurship: A Contemporary Look at its Development and Modern Manifestation Federico Marcon
Class of 2018
Class Year Author Title Advisor
2018 Alisa Fukatsu Urban Folk Religions: A Study on Modern Manifestation of Japanese Folk Religion Federico Marcon
2018 Julie Goldstein The Development of Public Health in China: An Exploration of Health Education in Chinese Primary and Secondary Schools Amy Borovoy
2018 Melanie Ho Hip Hop as a Constructed Identity: Understanding the Social and Political Movement of Hip Hop from the US to Asia through Afro Asian Relations Erin Huang
2018 Audrey Lee The Struggle for Greater Autonomy: Article 23 and the Development of the Pro-Democracy movement in Hong Kong (An Examination of Post-Handover Challenges) Anna M. Shields
2018 Elizabeth Maxey “They are Our Fellow Countrymen:” Koryo Saram and the Korean Nation Ksenia Chizhova
2018 Julia Selignan “WHY HAVE THERE BEEN NO GREAT WOMEN ARTISTS?” An Analysis of the Art World, Gender Bias and Feminist Discourse in Contemporary China Martin Kern
2018 Guoen Sheng Atmospheric Water Generation: Disruptive Technological Solution for Addressing Chinese Potable Water Demand Franz Prichard
2018 Mathew Troiani Language Choice and Identity in Hong Kong Yu Xie
Class of 2017
Class Year Author Title Advisor
2017 Andrea Jenkins “不如死一半,給一半人吃飽” “It is Better to Let Half of the People Die so that the Other Half Can Eat Their Fill”: Analyzing Consumption Patterns During China’s Great Famine (1958-1962) Benjamin Elman
2017 Matt Wie Yi Chong-jun’s “A Story of Us Worms” (Beolle iyagi): A Translation and Critical Reading Ksenia Chizhova
2017 Murad Mahmudov Will China’s debt crisis and real estate bubble implode? Determining the origins, the severity and the Chinese government’s tools in managing the debt and real estate crises. Sheldon Garon
2017 Sophia Su "Under the Same Blue Sky:" A Study of Media Portrayal of Children of Chinese Migrant Workers and Education Inequality David Leheny
2017 Matt Blazejewski Transnational Horror Cinema: Seeing with New Vision in Jian Gui and The Eye Pieter Keulemans
2017 Jiyoon Kim Translated Selections from Come Back by Friday: The Sewol Ferry and the Construction of Cultural Trauma through Narrativized Interviews Steven Chung
2017 Alicia Lamb Seeking an Oasis: Alaer City, Economic Development, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in Contemporary China He Bian
2017 Sadiki Wiltshire SECURE COMMUNICATION AND INTELLIGENCE EXCHANGES: AN ANALYSIS OF THE MOZI HAO SATELLITE AND BEIJING’S QUANTUM COMMUNICATION PROGRAM Christopher Chyba
2017 Sheila Sisimit The Politics of Colonial Identity: Collaboration and Development in Yun Ch’i-ho’s Diary Ksenia Chizhova
2017 A.J. Ohiwerei Nihon wa nandesu ka: Discerning Okinawa's Place in Modern Japan Atsuko Ueda
2017 Charles Argon INTER-IMPERIAL EXPERTS: ADMINISTRATION AND CONFLICT IN NINGBO, 1832-1862 He Bian
Class of 2016
Class Year Author Title Advisor
2016 Zoe Zhang Winter-Worm Summer-Grass: Caterpillar Fungus and the Invention of a Wonder Drug? Benjamin Elman
2016 Briana Christine Teresa Freeman Stereotypes Traverse Language: Being "Raced" in English-to-Japanese Translation Patrick Caddeau
2016 Nicholas G. Keeley Rhetorical Ambiguity and Its Reception Abroad: A Roadside Perspective of the "One Belt, One Road" Project Pieter Keulemans
2016 Ross Donovan Radical Intimacies in the Queer Public Sphere of Postsocialist China Erin Huang
2016 Bradley Berman Jia Pingwa's December, January: Social Status and Influence in China in the Aftermath of Post-Collectivization: An Analysis and Translation Pieter Keulemans
2016 Joyce Da-Hyun Kim Exploring Communication and Language Change in South Korea Steven Chung
2016 Daniel Nicholas Taub Dreaming in Chinese: The Politics of China's Entrepreneurship Promotion Yu Xie
2016 Megumi Minaki Caregiver or Laborer? Examining the Role of Japanese Women from the 'Japanese-Style Welfare Society' to the 'Social Investment' State Amy Borovoy
Class of 2015
Class Year Author Title Advisor
2015 Jameson Mitchell Creager Vengeful Ghost: The Evolution of the Woman Ghost Antagonist from Japanese Folktales to Modern J-Horror Federico Marcon
2015 Lucas Broïdo Re-Imagining Identities through "Japanese" Literature Atsuko Ueda
2015 Charles Thomas Fortin Nurturing Life Amidst the Smog: The Air Pollution Experience in Contemporary China Benjamin Elman
2015 Andres L. Parrado Not Here to Stay?: Chinese Globalization and Transnationalism in Serbia David Leheny
2015 Oliver Marsh Music as an Instrument of Colonization in Meiji Japan Thomas Hare
2015 Jennifer Jee Cho Monster Movies as National Allegories: Difficulties in Defining Genre in Korean Cinema Steven Chung
2015 Gavin Gillespie Cook The Misery of Quicksilver: Myth, Memory, Performance, and Soil Pollution Remediation in China David Leheny
2015 Kelsey Jennifer Henderson "A Matter of the Greatest Urgency": An Evaluation of the Work-Life Balance of Working Women in Japan Sheldon Garon
2015 Jessica Daryl McLemore It Takes a Village to Feed a Child: Motives of Food Education in Japanese Elementary Schools Amy Borovoy
2015 Julia Rose Knox Hammer A Hungry Dog Isn't Afraid of a Wooden Stick: On Allegory, Social Critique, and the Rise of ‘Pop Avant-Garde’ Theater in Contemporary China Pieter Keulemans
2015 Erin Kim The Good Life in the Context of South Korea: A qualitative study on Korean college students’ perception and experience of well-being Steven Chung
2015 Hugo Jin Yi Ou Debunking "Copycat" Culture in China: An Examination of the Chinese Internet Landscape David Leheny
2015 Michael Noah Katz Bridging Zhongguancun and Silicon Valley: How the Chinese Government is Constructing a Technology Ecosystem That Conforms to Western Standards of Innovation Janet Chen
Class of 2014
Class Year Author Title Advisor
2014 Jennifer Memie Alexis Greene “Somehow, Crystal: A Translation of Tanaka Yasuo’s Nantonaku, Kurisutaru” Atsuko Ueda
2014 Alexandra Elizabeth Small “Putting a Price on a Hero: Marketing Morality & Martyrdom Through Model Emulation Propaganda in Reform-Era China” Janet Chen
2014 Emily Hannah Erickson “The Paper Tiger of PRC Policy: Nuclear ‘No First Use’ in China’s National Defense White Papers, 1998-2013” Thomas Conlan
2014 Cameron Langeluttig White A New Kind of Border Town: Spatial Intersection in Tourist Fenghuang Everett Zhang
2014 Mary Kathleen Schulman “The King’s Speech: Language and Ritual in the ‘Great Proclamation’ of the Classic of Documents” Martin Kern
2014 Max Batt Behar Japanese Language Textbook Development Following WWII — The Meaning of the Japanese Textbook in the 21st Century Steven Chung
2014 Margaret Kathy Wang “From Essential Mandates to Forgotten Classrooms: A Framework to Examine English Education Policies in Rural Counties” Everett Zhang
2014 Asumi Shibata “Fan Creations, Fan Expressions: A Comparative Study of Derivative Works as Reflections of Fan Communities of Anime and Manga in Japan and the USA” David Leheny
2014 Marianne Nichole Nell-Tascon “Crying ‘Nanking’: The Microblog Approach to Macro-Level Sino-Japanese Relations — A Pop Cultural Analysis” David Leheny
2014 Leila Arisa Howard “A Comparative Visual Analysis of Graphic Design in China” Steven Chung
2014 Ruofan Cheng “‘Broad’ Nationalism Among the Young Turk and Chinese Revolutionaries?” Willard Peterson
2014 Nicole Jian Min Hung “All in the Family: A Filmic Analysis of Family Caregiving of the Mentally Ill in Contemporary China” Brian Steininger
Class of 2013
Class Year Author Title Advisor
2013 Benjamin Goldstein Watching the "Political Show" From Afar: Chinese Media Coverage of the 2012 United States Presidential Election Martin Kern
2013 Jonathan Cheng-Ping Lin Uneven Rural “Development” in Contemporary China: The “Neoliberalization” of Space and Bodies in Two Chinese Villages David Leheny
2013 Chloe Ferguson Towards a Southern Sun: Race, Order & Empire in Japanese Micronesia Martin Kern
2013 Thomas Merckens Spirit Wood by Liu Qingbang: Translation and Critical Introduction by Thomas Merckens Pieter Keulemans
2013 Daniel Velasco Remolding Japanese Minds: Combating Low Fertility with Pronatal Policy and Social Education Amy Borovoy
2013 Adam Chin The Politicization of Disaster Relief: A Comparative Study of the 1999 Taiwan Earthquake and the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake Pieter Keulemans
2013 Jackson Popkin Party Over: Communist Party Prestige, the History of Modern China Series, and the Cultural Revolution Benjamin Elman
2013 Anna A. Lorentz The New Chinese Diaspora in Brazil: Changes in Overseas Chinese Policy Reflecting the PRC Agenda to Foster China-Brazil Trade Ties,1990 - 2012 Janet Chen
2013 James A. McGlone Mobile Values and Moral Devices: The Rise of Mobile Phone Culture among Chinese College Students and the Ideological Response David Leheny
2013 Kendra Meilin Namiko Simon “An Impossible Art”: Early Japanese Bible Translation In the Nineteenth Century Patrick Caddeau
2013 Connor Carreras Examining Governmental and Non-Governmental Efforts to Improve Migrant Children’s Access to Education in China Martin Kern

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