Jiajun Liang is an Assistant Professor of Media Studies at the University of California, Merced. He received his Ph.D. in Japanese literature and culture from UCLA and his M.A. in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan. His interdisciplinary research spans modern Japanese literature, film, media, and popular culture, with particular attention to how memory, trauma, and colonial violence are represented and reimagined across national and linguistic boundaries.
His current book project, tentatively titled Echoes of the Empire: Memory and Narrative in Postwar Japanese Literature, examines literary and cultural transformations in early postwar Japan, focusing on transnational experiences of repatriation and demobilization. His recent work has appeared in journals including The Journal of Japanese Studies, Japan Forum, Language & Communication, and Mechademia.
His article, "Tearing Through the Screen: Diegetic Credits, Dialogic Media, and Fictional Reality in Kon Satoshi’s Paprika" was awarded the 2024 Ian Nish Prize for best research article by the British Association for Japanese Studies.
Office Location: ACS 119
