Alexis Rangell-Onwuegbuzia is a doctoral candidate studying contemporary Japanese film and media; they are also pursuing a graduate certificate through the Center for Comparative Media. Their research focuses on representations of Otherness in anime, particularly Black and queer representation, as well as audience engagement. Alexis’ scholarship is an active effort to bridge the gaps between academic, industry, and fan analyses of contemporary anime. They are especially interested in examining the historical influence of both Japanese and non-Japanese fans of anime. Prior entering the Ph.D. program, Alexis received a B.A. in East Asian Languages and Cultures from Columbia University, where they completed a senior thesis focusing on Black representation in, and engagement with, Japanese anime produced in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Daniel is a PhD candidate in Japanese literature and cultural history. His dissertation, “Languages of Critical Enlightenment: Science, Literature, and the Aesthetics of Writing in Meiji Japan,” examines emergent cultures of knowledge production, organization and circulation in the Meiji period (1868-1912). In particular, his work focuses on how the demands of translation brought issues of language, orthography, and rhetoric to the forefront in the critical engagement with Euro-American conceptions of nature and society. Before joining Columbia’s EALAC department, Daniel received a BA in Mathematics at Princeton in 2014, and an MA in Statistics at Stanford in 2016. He is also an avid rock musician and language learner.