Mentors

Steven C. Fedorowicz is a cultural and visual anthropologist whose primary work centers on the representation and sociolinguistics of Deaf communities in Japan. He is a Professor of Anthropology in the Asian Studies Program at Kansai Gaidai University. He earned his PhD from Washington State University and has lived and worked in Osaka for over 25 years. His research explores how language, identity, and embodiment intersect in contexts of deafness, sign language use, and performance. Fedorowicz approaches language as a multimodal, socially embedded practice, examining how communicative forms - especially Japanese Sign Language - are shaped by and respond to broader cultural and political dynamics.

He has conducted long-term ethnographic research with Deaf individuals and organizations in Japan, focusing on issues of linguistic rights, representation, social belonging and disability. His work also engages with the visual dimensions of communication, drawing on ethnographic photography and performance studies to analyze how Deaf identities are constructed and mediated across different modes.

In addition to academic writing and presentations, Fedorowicz had held several photo exhibitions focusing on Deaf communities, tradtional drinking establishments and local community danjiri festivals. He also teaches visual anthropology courses and curates a related blog that showcases his own and student visual projects. See more of Fedorowicz's work at https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/.

Jennifer M. McGuire is an associate professor at Doshisha University’s Institute for the Liberal Arts in Kyoto, Japan. She holds a DPhil in Anthropology from the University of Oxford, with research interests that span anthropology, deaf studies, language, and education.

Her scholarly work focuses on themes of inclusion, identity, and belonging, particularly in educational contexts. McGuire’s ethnographic research includes studies on sign language acquisition, sign bilingual education, and the training of sign language interpreters in Japan. She co-edited Performative Linguistic Space: Ethnographies of Spatial Politics and Dynamic Linguistic Practices (De Gruyter Mouton, 2023), a volume that explores how linguistic practices and spatial dynamics are intertwined to shape social interactions. McGuire is an active member of several professional organizations, including the American Anthropological Association and the Japan Anthropology Workshop.

Debra Occhi is a professor of anthropology at Miyazaki International College in Japan, specializing in linguistic anthropology with a focus on Japanese culture. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis, and her academic interests encompass anthropology, linguistics, and Japanese culture. 

Occhi's research delves into Japanese popular culture, exploring themes such as gender, aesthetics, regional identity, and anthropomorphism. She has examined the cultural significance of Japanese mascot characters (kyara) and their role in society. Additionally, she has investigated the evolution of obento (boxed lunches) and their implications for gender roles in contemporary Japan. 

Her scholarly contributions include analyses of Japanese expressions, naming practices in educational contexts, and representations of femininity in media. Dr. Occhi is affiliated with several professional organizations, including the American Anthropological Association and the Japan Association of Language Teachers.

​Gregory S. Poole is a professor of social anthropology at the Institute for the Liberal Arts, Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. He holds a DPhil in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford.

His research interests in linguistic anthropology and sociolinguistics have looked at language policy and language education, translanguaging practices, and most recently, minoritized languages in Japan.

He is currently beginning work with Leon Grausam on a handbook of minoritized languages in Japan. His recent publications include a co-edited volume on pedagogy, Teaching Japan: A Handbook, two ethnographic studies of translanguaging practices in university settings, and a co-edited volume on language education and policy, Foreign Language Education in Japan: Qualitative Approaches.

Tomoko I. Sakita is a professor at Doshisha University’s Faculty of Global and Regional Studies in Kyoto, Japan. Her academic focus lies in linguistics, particularly in the areas of discourse analysis, cognitive linguistics, and pragmatics. She holds a PhD in Human and Environmental Studies (Kyoto University) and an MA in Linguistics (University of Wisconsin-Madison). She is the author of Reporting Discourse, Tense, and Cognition (Elsevier) and has extensively researched how language functions in interactional settings, with a special emphasis on discourse markers and their role in managing stance and intersubjectivity.​

Professor Sakita's interdisciplinary interests bridge linguistics with cognitive science, psychology, evolutionary theory, ethology, and gender studies. She is deeply invested in understanding the mechanisms of human communication and the cognitive processes underlying language use.

Dr. Shinji Sato is a University Lecturer and Director of the Japanese Language Program in the Department of East Asian Studies at Princeton University. He is widely recognized for his expertise in Japanese language education and educational anthropology. He earned his Ph.D. in Anthropology and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Dr. Sato’s research critically explores taken-for-granted concepts in Japanese language education, such as language, learning, culture, communication, and competence. His work also advocates for alternative approaches to foreign language teaching and classroom practice.

At Princeton, Dr. Sato oversees the design and implementation of the Japanese language curriculum across all levels, integrating innovative pedagogical methods and technology-enhanced instruction.

​Paul Snowden was born in Derby, England. Since gaining a BA and MA from King’s College, Cambridge, he has lived and worked most of his life in universities in Japan: Tsukuba 1978~83, Waseda 1983~2013 including four years as Dean of the School of International Liberal Studies, and Kyorin 2013~2020 including five years as Vice-President. Lakeland University in Wisconsin awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters in 2022; he is now an Emeritus Professor of Waseda University.

Perversely regarding himself as primarily an educator rather than a researcher, he has taught classes in a wide range of subjects from English Conversation to Greek Tragedy. His published articles are similarly diverse. He is particularly proud of having contributed to reform in university entrance exams and to MEXT’s Global initiatives of the early 2000s. He was one of three Editors in Chief of the “Green Goddess” (Kenkyusha’s big Japanese-English Dictionary, 2003) and still works on regular online revisions. Most recently, he edited the Handbook of Higher Education in Japan (MHM, 2021), to which Greg Poole also contributed.