We are delighted to announce that three new faculty will join the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures starting Fall 2024: Quillon Arkenstone (Lecturer in Modern-Contemporary Japanese Literature), Yujie Pu (Instructor in Imperial Chinese History), and Jihye Yun (Instructor in Korean Language). Our new colleagues will add to our strengths in the study and teaching of Japan, China, and Korea.
Dr. Quillon Arkenstone
Dr. Arkenstone holds a PhD in Japanese literature from the University of Hawai’i. His research, which involves literary studies, theory, history, and political science, is focused on the phenomenon of how the transnational exchange of ideas, manifested in literary and artistic genres, is mediated broadly by specific societies in their own historical moment. His current project looks at the detective fiction produced in Japan and Korea during the Pacific War. In Fall 2024, Dr. Arkenstone will teach EALC 306 Japanese Literature in Translation II, EALC 466 Japanese Cinema, and EALC 398/EALC 550 Japanese Mystery Fiction.
Yujie Pu
Yujie Pu is a historian of modern China and East Asia. She is interested in the global history of medicine, psychiatry, and legal history. She is currently developing a book manuscript, Legal Justice, Medical Authority, and Madness in China, 1700-1930, which examines the intersection of legal and medical practices concerning insanity within the judicial system from the late imperial era to the early republican period. Her other projects include comparative studies of Euro-Asian histories of insanity, doctor-patient relationships, the intersections of medical and religious cultures, Manchu medical texts, and the history of the pharmaceutical industry in East Asia. At UIUC, she will teach courses on East Asian history, premodern and modern Chinese history, and seminars on late imperial China. She looks forward to working with students interested in social and cultural history, Chinese history, the history of science and medicine, and legal history.
Dr. Jihye Yun
Dr. Yun is a dedicated and experienced language educator with a strong background in both Korean and Chinese linguistics. She holds a Ph.D. in Chinese linguistics with a minor in linguistics, and her research has focused on comparing Korean language and culture with those of China, along with exploring other languages and cultural interactions. She has made significant contributions to the field of language education through her many years of teaching at prestigious institutions, including University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is now excited to bring her expertise and passion for language and cultural education to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she will continue to inspire and engage students in their linguistic and cultural studies. Outside the classroom, Dr. Yun enjoys a range of activities that reflect her broad interests, such as playing tennis and swimming, as well as exploring music through the piano and Janggu, a traditional Korean instrument.