I am a scholar partial to chasing and writing about sound. In my dissertation, I pursue sensory ethnographies and histories of (East/West) Germany and (North/South) Korea since the onset of the Cold War. I comparatively examine how people, by using sound ("sounding"), build an understanding of self and Other in nations in which the consequences of division reverberate culturally, politically, and socially in the contemporary. From bells to drums, folk music to protest songs, and film to sound/video art, people variously use sounded media as a means to mourn and memorialize the past and to make sense of the political situations in which they currently live.
I particularly follow public history offerings in urban centers such as Berlin, Seoul, and Gwangju, which increasingly transition towards an experiential learning model that necessitates audience use of sensory facilities, including sounding and listening. I carry great interest in pursuing my ethnographic and historical work through the creative media of sound recording and video art.
My research is supported by the Fulbright Program, Association for Recorded Sound Collections, UChicago Center for East Asian Studies, and UChicago Global. I have presented my work widely, most recently at the International Conference on Politics of Sound and Technology (2025) and German Studies Association Annual Conference (2025).
Teaching Experience
- Introduction to World Music (CA, Autumn 2024)
- Introduction to Western Art Music (CA, Spring 2025)
- Introduction to Analysis and Criticism (CA, Autumn 2025)