# Committee on Regional Studies East Asia ## Committee Information The Committee on Regional Studies—East Asia aims to make students broadly conversant with the societies of East Asia, and also to give them a sound knowledge of one of the languages of the area by directing the A.M. program including admissions, advising, fellowships, and degrees. The Committee generally consists of faculty members with a specific area focus within East Asia. Their expertise and guidance are integral to the functioning of RSEA. Search Within Results Search Within Results search ## 10 results Show filters filter\_alt Sort by Last Name A-ZLast Name Z-A sort list grid\_view ## 10 results [### Alexander Zahlten ](/people/alexander-zahlten-0) Chair, Committee on Regional Studies East Asia EALC: Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations Research Interests: Film and media in Japan; media ecologies in East Asia. ![Alexander Zahlten headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum8766/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/rsea/files/alexander_zahlten.jpg?itok=onsy5MKr) [### Christina Davis ](/people/christina-davis) Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics Director of the Program on U.S.-Japan Relations at Harvard University Research interests and teaching bridge international relations and comparative politics, with a focus on trade policy. Interests include the politics and foreign policy of Japan, East Asia, and the European Union as well as the study of international... ![Christina Davis headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum8766/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/rsea/files/cdavis2017.jpg?itok=OQeBcD4m) [### Thomas Kelly ](/people/thomas-p-kelly) [thomas\_kelly@fas.harvard.edu](mailto:thomas_kelly@fas.harvard.edu)EALC: Assistant Professor in East Asian Languages and Civilizations Research interests: Late imperial Chinese literature: the interplay between the literary imagination and Chinese visual and material cultures in the early modern period. Current research examines practices of inscribing everyday objects in late Ming and... ![Thomas Kelly](/sites/g/files/omnuum8766/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/rsea/files/kelly_tom_headshot_1_1_0.jpeg?itok=NXxy46qj) [### William C. Kirby ](/people/william-c-kirby) [william\_kirby@harvard.edu](mailto:william_kirby@harvard.edu)Professor, Department of History and Harvard Business School Director, Harvard China Fund RSEA Alumni Advisory Board 2022- Research interests: modern Chinese political and economic history; history of the Republic of China and of the People’s Republic of China; Chinese foreign, economic and cultural relations. William C. Kirby is T. M. Chang Professor of China Studies at... ![William Kirby headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum8766/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-11/William%20Kirby_headshot.jpeg?itok=uWtjSdYu) [### Ya-Wen Lei ](/people/ya-wen-lei) Department of Sociology: Professor of Sociology Research interests : Political sociology, law and society, economic sociology, sociology of media and information technologies, sociology of work, labor and labor movements, science and technology studies, development, and Chinese studies ![Ya-Wen Lei photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum8766/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/rsea/files/lei_ya-wen_1.jpg?itok=_jlaqeUO) [### Si Nae Park ](/people/si-nae-park) RSEA, Director of Graduate Studies (through Fall 2025) EALC: Associate Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations Research Interests: Korean literature and literary practices within the Sinographic cultural space; the human voice and vernacular writing, narratives in late Chosŏn Seoul; history and historiography of Korean literature. ![sinae.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8766/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/rsea/files/sinae.jpg?itok=7V4w_NVX) [### Meg Rithmire ](/people/meg-rithmire) Harvard Business School: F. Warren MacFarlan Associate Professor of Business Administration Business, Government, and International Economy unit at Harvard Business School Research interests: The comparative political economy of development with a focus on China and Asia; the role of land politics, urban governments, and local property rights regimes in Chinese economic reforms; emerging markets and foreign investment; the... ![Prof. Rithmire photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum8766/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/rsea/files/megrithmirehbs.jpg?itok=LAUzxB2t) [### James Robson ](/people/james-robson) EALC: James C. Kralik and Yunli Lou Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations Director, Harvard Yenching Institute Research Interests: History of Medieval Chinese Buddhism and Daoism; issues of sacred geography, local religious history, talismans, religious art, and the historical development of Chan/Zen Buddhism. ![James Robson](/sites/g/files/omnuum8766/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/rsea/files/robson_2.jpg?itok=kiv7Fx4t) [### Victor Seow ](/people/victor-seow) RSEA, Director of Graduate Studies (Spring 2026) Assistant Professor of the History of Science Areas of Research: East Asian Studies, History of Environmental Sciences, Material Culture, STS, Technology and Society. ![Victor Seow photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum8766/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/rsea/files/seow_0.jpg?itok=4ZJEzuu1) [### Moira Weigel ](/people/moira-weigel) Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature Topics: Digital China, Film and Media, Science and Technology Moira Weigel is an Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature in the Department of Comparative Literature and a Faculty Associate of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at... ![Moira Weigel headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum8766/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-08/Moira-Weigel-photo.jpg?itok=USWvnXY7)