Amber Adams

Nianpo Su

Nianpo Su

Lecturer in Chinese

Office: 506 Kent Hall
Office Hours: MW 4:10-5:10 PM
Phone: TBD
Email: ns3834@columbia.edu

Educational Background

Ph.D. in Linguistics, Cornell University, 2026
B.A. in  Japanese Language and Literature, Tsinghua University, 2021

Research Interests

Theoretical syntax
Syntax-semantics interface
Experimental semantics
East Asian linguistics
Second language acquisition

Nianpo Su joined Columbia University as a full-time Lecturer in Chinese in the fall of 2026. She received her Ph.D. in Linguistics from Cornell University, with a minor in Cognitive Science. Her dissertation, titled “Classifiers and DP Structure: Marking Definiteness and Beyond”, investigates how classifier languages encode definiteness, using both theoretical and experimental approaches. She has conducted fieldwork on Nuosu Yi and Northern Qiang, two minority languages spoken in Southwest China. Her research on definiteness in Nuosu Yi was published in Glossa in 2025. Before joining Columbia, she taught Chinese language courses at Cornell University.

Publications

Nianpo Su & Helena Aparicio. (forthcoming). Two types of demonstratives: Experiments in Mandarin and Nuosu Yi. Proceedings of the 36th Semantics and Linguistic Theory.

Nianpo Su. (2025). Classifiers and DP structure in Nuosu Yi: Evidence from tone. Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics 10(1).

Nianpo Su. (2025). A head movement analysis of Nuosu Yi CLF-D order. Proceedings of the 48th Annual Penn Linguistics Conference.

Nianpo Su & Helena Aparicio. (2023). NPI licensing and intrusion effects in Japanese. Proceedings of the 58th Chicago Linguistics Society Annual Meeting.

Nianpo Su & Yunchuan Chen. (2022). Can the head quantifier phrase reconstruct in doubly embedded Chinese relative clauses? Proceedings of the 45th Annual Penn Linguistics Conference.

Valerie J. Cranmer

Valerie J. Cranmer

Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute; Lecturer of Modern Japanese History in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures

Office:  602 Kent Hall
Office Hours: M, R 10 am-12:00 pm and by appointment
Phone Number: 602 Kent Hall
Email: vjc2122@columbia.edu

Educational Background

PhD: University of St. Andrews, 2026
MA: Norwich University, 2021
BA: Colorado College, 2010

Classes Taught

HSEA GU4847 Modern Japan

Research Interests

Modern Japanese history, transnational and comparative history, war and society, history of East Asia, gender and the military

Valerie J. Cranmer is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and Lecturer in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University. Her research explores the intersections of the military and society, through interdisciplinary lens, such as popular culture and gender. Broadly, she is interested in the history of conflict and colonialism in East Asia in the modern era. She is completing a scholarly monograph, tentatively entitled Enabling Abuse: The Imperial Japanese Army’s Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Organization and Its Place in Global Military History.

Selected Publications

“In Judgment of Unit 731: A Comparative Study of Medical War Crimes Trials After World War II.” Journal of American-East Asian Relations 30. No. 1 (2023): 32-60.

Yang Hwan Choi

Yang Hwan Choi

Adjunct Lecturer in Korean
Educational Background

EdD: International Educational Development, Teachers College, Columbia University (2021)
MA: Sociology, Queens College, City University of New York (2012)
MA: Korean Language and Literature, Kyung Hee University (2009)
BA: Korean Language and Literature / Korean Language Education, Kyung Hee University (2007)

Classes Taught

KORN UN1101 First-Year Korean I

Research Interests

Korean Language Pedagogy, Second Language Acquisition, Adult Learning and Acculturation, Korean Popular Culture and Transnational Media.

Yang Hwan Choi has taught Korean language and East Asian cultural studies at the university level for over a decade, including current appointments as a Teaching Professor at DePaul University and adjunct positions at New York University, SUNY New Paltz, and Ramapo College. He holds an Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University, and his research examines the transnational circulation of Korean popular culture through the lens of adult and transformative learning theory.