Yuko Itatsu, MA (Tsuda), Ph.D. (USC)
Professor – English Language Program
Contact : itatsu[at]boz.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Profile
Professor Itatsu grew up in Japan and the United States when she was a child. Having received her undergraduate education at two liberal arts colleges, at Tsuda College (Tokyo) and as an exchange student at Bryn Mawr College (Pennsylvania, USA), she experienced first-hand the intellectual value of being exposed to multiple disciplines. After receiving her MA in American Studies from Tsuda, she returned to the United States as a Fulbright Scholar and received her Ph.D. in History at the University of Southern California. She has been teaching at the University of Tokyo for four years now, and is very much looking forward to working with international students.
Research Interests
Professor Itatsu’s research interests are centered on American popular culture and transnationalism, with a particular focus on U.S-Japan cultural exchange. Her current interests include nationalism and consumerism, anti-Americanism, as well as the concept of leisure and its protean nature based on political, economic, social and cultural vicissitudes.
She is also interested in innovation in global higher education and liberal arts education. She has taught English writing and presentation at the University of Tokyo and is currently preparing the courses for academic English for the PEAK program.
Selected Publications
“Beyond Nationalism: A Transnational History of Leisure Discourse between the United States and Japan, 1900-1940.” Ph.D. Dissertation: University of Southern California, 2009.
“The Hollywood Boycott Movement of 1924 Japan: The Dilemma between Anti-Americanism and Consumer Urge.” Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 28: 3 (August 2008), pp. 353-369.
“An Analysis of Leisure Argumentation: Before and After the Great Depression in the U.S.” Proceedings for the 3rd Tokyo Conference of Argumentation. August 2008, pp. 86-92.
Co-edited with Ann Igarashi. Nanka Shizuoka Kenjinkai Centennial Commemoration. Nanka Shizuoka Kenjinkai, 2005, 160 pages.