csaphd | Crystal S. Anderson

A globally-recognized expert, I work in the fields of Transnational American Studies, Black Internationalism and Global Asias. I focus on popular culture (particularly music and visual culture), media, and audience and reception. I am interested in the ways African American, Asian and Asian American cultures engage with one another and circulate globally.

Traditional Research

I maintain an active research agenda. In addition to several journal articles and book chapters, I have written two monograph. Soul in Seoul: African American Popular Music and K-pop (2020, University of Mississippi Press), examines the influence of genres of R&B on global Korean popular music, or K-pop.  Beyond the Chinese Connection: Contemporary Afro-Asian Cultural Production (2013, University of Mississippi Press) uses the films of Bruce Lee to read cross-cultural negotiations with global culture in novels, films and anime.

Digital Scholarship

I also make my research accessible to a general audience through several projects. .    KPK: KPop Kollective (est. 2010) is the oldest and only public scholarship site on K-pop for academics and fans.  As a community of practice and a thematic research collection, its mission is to promote the public’s understanding of contemporary Korean popular culture, create resources and provide analysis and context on K-pop from a global perspective. KPOPCULTURE, a digital humanities project housed in Omeka that curates and chronicles modern Korean popular music (K-pop) through digital exhibitions of music, choreography, creative personnel, media and fandom. I also train undergraduate students to work as research assistants on the project. HWAITING! is a online music research accelerator for Korean popular music that publishes music analyses.

In addition to academic writing, I have also written extensively for the public. I am a veteran blogger who writes on East Asian popular culture at High Yellow. I am also a former associate chief editor for hellokpop, a Korean entertainment site. Feel free to view my digital writing portfolio.

As an interdisciplinary educator, I have taught courses at liberal institutions and research universities, I have also mentored a variety of students.

In English, American Studies, Communications and Korean Studies departments and programs, I have taught courses ranging from surveys in literature to graduate seminars. In these classes, I routinely design assignments that combine critical thinking, creativity and digital tools, helping students gain skills that they can use in the real world. While I have served on several dissertation committees, I have even more experience mentoring undergraduate student research and training individuals as research assistants to work on my digital scholarship.

My research and teaching experience inform my ability to envision creative and practical solutions through innovative program development at the program/department and university levels.

I have developed an assessed educational programs and curricula, such as the Quality Enhancement Plan for SACSCOC. I have created and managed departmental advising and led revisions of the departmental major. I have also developed a faculty development curriculum designed to address the needs and experience levels of various types of faculty, from adjunct to tenured. I regularly conduct workshops and mini-courses on active learning, syllabus and assignment design, efficient grading and student engagement.