Curriculum Vitae YOO, Jennifer M.

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Jennifer M. Yoo
Education
University of Hawai’i at Mānoa (Honolulu, HI)
Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Theatre, Japan Focus, May 2022
Master of Arts in Asian Theatre, Non-Thesis, May 2016
Wellesley College (Wellesley, MA)
Bachelor of Arts in East Asian Studies, Japanese Studies Concentration, May 2012
Major Fields of Research
• Japanese Theatre: nō, kabuki, Takarazuka Revue, contemporary adaptation
• East Asian Cinema: horror, historical, action/martial arts, anime
• Women’s representation in media
Doctoral Dissertation Topic: “Monstrous Wives, Murderous Lovers, and Dead Wet Girls:
Examining the Feminine Vengeful Ghost in Japanese Traditional Theatre and Horror Cinema”
Advisor: Julie A. Iezzi, Ph.D. Date: April 2022
Awards/Achievements
Writing Awards
● Second Prize in the Edward Seidensticker Award for Best Graduate Student Paper on
Japan at the SPAS Graduate Student Conference in Asian Studies at the University of
Hawai’i at Mānoa (2015).
● Regional finalist for Kennedy Center’s American College Theater Festival 49 for one-act
play “Fire Horse” (2016).
● James R. Brandon Award for Excellence in Asian Theatre from the University of Hawai’i
at Mānoa Department of Theatre and Dance (2022).
Scholarship Awards
● Crown Prince Akihito Scholarship recipient for 2017-2018, dissertational research
conducted in Kyoto, Japan through Ritsumeikan University’s Art Research Center.
● Center of Japanese Studies Fellowship recipient for 2018-2019
● Stuart D.B. Picken Grant & Scholarship recipient for Asian Conference on Arts and
Humanities (ACAH) 2019 in Tokyo, Japan.
● Horton-Hallowell Fellowship recipient 2020-2021, as a Wellesley College alumna
pursuing graduate study.
Publications
Book Reviews
● (2018) Edo Kabuki in Transition: From the Worlds of the Samurai to the Vengeful
Female Ghost by Satoko Shimazaki, Japanese Studies, 38:1, 130-131.
● (2021) Shakespeare in the Theatre: Yukio Ninagawa by Conor Hanratty, Asian Theatre
Journal, 38:2, 594-597.
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● (Forthcoming) The Legend of Prince Golden Calf in China and Korea by Wilt L. Idema
and Allard M. Olof, Asian Theatre Journal.
● (Forthcoming) Kabuki, A Mirror of Japan by Matsui Kesako, Asian Theatre Journal.

Articles
• (2023) “Dead Wet Girls versus Monstrous Mothers: The Female ‘Monster’ in Japanese
Horror Cinema,” International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) The Newsletter, vol. 94,
Spring, 4-5.
Papers
● “Hair Becomes Her: Presenting the ‘Monstrous’ Feminine in Japanese Horror,” Asian
Cinema, Special Issue: Aesthetics of Fear. (Forthcoming – Revised Article Submitted for
Review)
Research Seminars & Presentations
• “Monstrous Wives and Murderous Lovers: Examining the Feminine Vengeful
Ghost In Kaidan Literature and Japanese Theatre.” 53rd ARC Seminar 2018
(Ritsumeikan University Art Research Center)
• “Monstrous Wives, Murderous Lovers and Dead Wet Girls: Examining the
Feminine Vengeful Ghost and the Role of the Monstrous Feminine in Japanese
Theatre and Horror Cinema.” 25th Anniversary Japanese Studies Association
Conference 2019 (Honolulu, Hawai’i)
• “Monstrous Wives and Dead Wet Girls: Examining the Vengeful Ghost in
Japanese Theatre and Horror Cinema.” Asian Conference on Arts and
Humanities 2019 (Tokyo, Japan)
• “Monstrous Wives, Murderous Lovers, and Dead Wet Girls: Examining the
Feminine Vengeful Ghost in Japanese Traditional Theatre and Horror Cinema.”
University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Center for Japanese Studies Webinar Fall 2021
(Online)
• “From Kaidan to J-Horror: Rewriting the Ghost for Stage & Film.” Japan
Information & Culture Center, Embassy of Japan on August 3, 2023
(Washington D.C.)
Conference Paper Presentations
• “Thy Name is Woman: Performing the Feminine Ghost in Japanese Theatre and
Cinema.” School of Pacific Asian Studies Graduate Student Conference in Asian
Studies 2015 (University of Hawai’i at Mānoa)
• “The Pursuit of Feminine Beauty in Mishima Yukio’s Modern Noh.” School of
Pacific Asian Studies Graduate Student Conference in Asian Studies 2017
(University of Hawai’i at Mānoa)
• “Translating the ‘Original’ in the Takarazuka Revue: Acknowledging ‘Form’ in
Interpreting Adaptations for Stylized Theatre.” Association for Asian
Performance Annual Conference 2020 (Online)
• “Performing Tōkaidō Yotsuya Kaidan: Adapting Kabuki for the Contemporary
Audience in Japan.” Association for Asian Performance Annual Conference
2021 (Online)
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• “Femme Grotesque: Presenting the ‘Monstrous’ Woman in Japan’s Supernatural

Cinema.” Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference 2022 (Honolulu,
Hawai’i, Virtual Attendance)
• “Rewriting the Ghost in Kabuki: Altering the Supernatural Narrative &
Performance of Kaidan-mono.” Association for Asian Performance Annual
Conference 2022 (Detroit, Michigan)
• “Men Making ‘Homes’: Examining (Un)Conventional Parenting &
Dysfunctional Domestic Spaces in Nakashima Tetsuya’s Kuru (‘It Comes’).”
Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference 2023 (Boston, Massachusetts)
• “The Home That Consumes: Surreal Spaces and Realities in Miike Takashi’s
Kuime (Over Your Dead Body).” European Association for Japanese Studies
International Conference 2023 (Ghent, Belgium)
• (Upcoming) “Monster Cats & ‘Strange’ Women: Crossing the Boundaries of
Humanity and the ‘Monstrous’ Feminine in Japanese Gothic Films.” Department
of International Literary and Cultural Studies “Gothic Now! Dark Atmospherics
in a Post-Truth Climate” Symposium 2024 (Tufts University)
Work Experience: University Teaching
(Course descriptions/syllabi and detailed teaching history available upon request)
Tufts University, Department of International Literary and Cultural Studies
Lecturer
Fall: 2023 Modern Japanese Literature
● Fully developed and currently teaching undergraduate-level course survey of
modern Japanese literature through to the end of World War II for Fall 2023.
Spring: 2023 & Fall: 2023 | 2024 (Upcoming) Japanese Film
● Fully developed and taught undergraduate-level course examining the
development of Japanese film and genre for Spring 2023 and Fall 2023.
Fall: 2022 | 2023 | 2024 (Upcoming) Japanese Popular Media & Culture
● Fully developed and taught undergraduate-level course examining representation
(gender, etc.) in Japanese popular media and culture for Fall 2022 and 2023.
Spring: 2023 | 2024 (Ongoing) Modern Japanese Women’s Literature
● Fully developed and taught undergraduate-level course examining modern &
contemporary Japanese literature by women for Spring 2023. Currently teaching
for Spring 2024.
Spring: 2024 (Ongoing) Theatre & Society in Japan
● Fully developed and teaching undergraduate-level course survey of the history
and aesthetics of Japanese theatre for Spring 2024.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Music and Theater Arts
Lecturer
Fall: 2022 | 2023 & Spring: 2023 | 2024 Script Analysis
● Fully developed and taught undergraduate-level course focused on the theatrical
interpretation of a wide range of playscripts for academic year 2022-2023.
Currently teaching for Spring 2024.
● Designed course needed to fulfill MIT’s Communication Intensive in
Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences requirement.
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University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Department of Theatre and Dance

Teacher
Spring: 2021 Gender & Ghosts in Supernatural Japan: Stage & Film
● Fully developed and taught graduate-level seminar course examining the
representation of gender and spirits in Japanese theatre, literature, and cinema for
Spring 2021.
Teacher Assistant
Fall: 2015 Introduction to Theatre, by Matthew Kelty
● Assisted in grading student work and ran assigned lab section of course for Fall
2015.
Fall: 2015 Women in Drama and Theatre, by Professor Lurana O’Malley
● Assisted in preparing coursework and provided presentations or mini-lectures on
aspects of Asian theatre that corresponded to topics on the syllabus for Fall 2015.
Guest Lectures
Bates College
Fall: 2023 Asian Studies Program Lecture
• Lecture titled “From Monster Cats to Dead Wet Girls: The Evolution of the
Monstrous Feminine in Japanese Horror.” Presented during Fall 2023 for the
Asian Studies Program.
Wellesley College
Fall: 2022 Supernatural Japan, by Professor Eve Zimmerman
• Lecture on female spirits and The Peony Lantern. Presented during Fall 2022.
Fall: 2020 Hauntings in Modern Japan, by Professor Eve Zimmerman
• Lecture on The Peony Lantern as both literary narrative and kabuki performance.
Presented during Fall 2020.
University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Fall: 2021 | 2022 Women and Film, by Crystal Kwok
• Lecture on Japanese horror and “monstrous” women. Presented during Fall 2021.
• Lecture on expressions of the woman’s body in Japanese horror. Presented
during Fall 2022.
Spring: 2016 Drag Performance, by Sami Akuna
• Lecture on the onnagata in kabuki theatre and the otokoyaku in the Takarazuka
Revue theatre. Presented during Spring 2016.
Fall: 2016 Kyogen Theatre Movement & Voice, by Professor Julie Iezzi
• Two lectures on the background/history and discussion of plays in kyōgen
theatre. Presented during Fall 2016.
Fall: 2016 World Theatre History, by Professor Lurana O’Malley &
Professor Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak
• Lecture on kyōgen theatre. Presented during Fall 2016.
Work Experience: University & Service
Arigato Japan Food Tours
Kyoto Senior Tour Guide & Regional Coordinator (2018-2019)
• Tour guide on select food-related tours throughout Kyoto. Regional coordinator for
Kyoto/Kansai area to assist with restaurant/shop relations, guide training, etc.
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University of Hawai’i at Mānoa

Asian Theatre Research Graduate Assistant (2015-2017)
• Graduate assistant for the Asian Theatre Program faculty with class- and production-
related work and projects including administrative, AV, publication, research and
translation work.
Department of Theatre and Dance AV Assistant (Spring 2015)
• Assistant for the appointed Audio-Visual Graduate Assistant in Spring 2015; primarily
with the audio-visual needs in Julie Ogilvie’s THEA 323 TV/Film Acting course.
Ka Leo Newspaper Staff Writer (2014-2015)
• Features Section Staff Writer for the Ka Leo newspaper at the University of Hawai’i at
Mānoa from November 2014 to September 2015.
Related Skills/Activities
● Languages: English, Japanese, Korean
● Writing: Academic, Journalism, Prose Fiction, Playwriting
● Computer & Online/Digital Media: Microsoft Office (Word, Excel,
PowerPoint), WordPress, Video Subtitling & Editing
● Received 2+ years of training in nihon buyō (Japanese classical dance)
● Received 2+ years of training in kyōgen (traditional Japanese comedy theatre)