Sara Menton – MA Winter 2014

Sara Menton - MA 2014

Sara Menton graduated with a Master’s degree in Asian Studies Winter 2014. Sara entered the Asian Studies master’s program in Fall 2012. She focused on Chinese painter Zhang Daqian. Her thesis: “Authenticity and the Copy: Analyziing Western Connoisseurship Chinese Painting Through the Works of Zhang Daqian.” Sara’s thesis committee: Jenny Lin (History of Art and Architecture), Albert Narath, (History of Art and Architecture), and Daniel Buck (Asian Studies). Currently, Sara is working on her law degree at the University of Miami in Florida.

Julie DePaulo – MA Spring 2013

Julie DePaulo- MA 2013

Julie DePaulo graduated Magna Cum Laude from Ohio University with a B.A. in World Religions. She entered the Asian Studies M.A. program in Fall 2011 and graduated in spring 2013. Her thesis, “Mizuko Kuyō Online: Digital Media and Religious Ritual in Contemporary Japan” shows how individuals now actively participate in dialogues about misuko kuyō online and how this affects its cultural practice. Her thesis explores the shift from a temple dominated religious practice to a more secular ritual. Julie’s thesis committee: Chair Alisa Freedman (East Asian Languages and Literatures (EALL), Committee members Daniel Buck (Asian Studies) and Jason Webb (EALL). Julie is currently exploring employment opportunities.

Jesse Rodenbiker – MA Spring 2013 Jesse is currently a Ph.D. student in Geography at UC Berkeley. He’s involved in the Sustainable Cities Initiative – China Programs. Click here for more.

Jing Pei Goh – MA Spring 2012

Jing Pei Goh-MA 2012

Jing Pei Goh came to the University of Oregon Asian Studies program as a Fulbright Fellow from Malaysia. Her M.A. thesis presented an interdisciplinary study on identity politics of Malaysian Chinese education. She is currently serving Teach For Malaysia, the Malaysian partner of the Teach For All global network. Previously, she graduated from University of Malaya and worked for a boutique human capital consulting firm. Combining her interest in talent development and education, Jing Pei also works on a social venture focusing on talent development space in Southeast Asia.

Matthew Hayes – MA Spring 2012

Matthew Hayes - MA 2012

Matthew Hayes graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.A. in Religious Studies and returned for his M.A. in Asian Studies. His thesis presented geographical and social movement as possible forms of physical, cognitive, or even spiritual release from the strictures of Tokugawa society, an argument illuminated by the theoretical models of Pierre Bourdieu, Victor Turner, and Catherine Bell. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at UCLA. He plans to continue his study of the treatment of ritual amidst social change in early modern Japan.