Nancy K. Stalker

Interests

Biography

Research interests

Professor Stalker's scholarship examines the relationship between cultural and religious practice and national identity in modern Japan. She is currently finishing a book on new religious movements in the 1920s-30s entitled Prophet Motive: Deguchi Onisaburo and the Rise of Oomoto in Imperial Japan. Her next monographic project will examine the role of ikebana, the art of flower arrangement, in constructing national and international Japanese identity in the twentieth century, but especially focusing on its rapid expansion among middle class aspirants in postwar Japan from the 1950s-70s. She is also editing a volume tentatively entitled Interrogating Japan's Soft Power: Multidisciplinary and Historical Perspectives on Japanese Cultural Influence based on a conference held in Feb 2006 at UT Austin.

Courses taught

Modern Japanese History; History of Japanese Religions; Religion and Rebellion in Modern East Asia; Introduction to Japan; War and Defeat in Japanese History and Memory; Imperial Japan; Readings in Modern East Asia; Religion in Japanese History

Awards/Honors

Professor Stalker's research has been supported by Japan Foundation, Institute of International Studies (Stanford University) and A.W. Mellon fellowships. She has taught Japanese history and religion at Yale University. Previously, she worked as a management consultant at Anderson Consulting (now Accenture).