Katherine Saltzman-Li’s passion for Chinese and Japanese languages and literature began when she was in high school. "I read Lady Murasaki’s The Tale of Genji in translation and it drew me in," says the assistant professor of East Asian languages and cultural studies. "I loved studying the languages and I loved the literature."

In her courses on classical and medieval Japanese literature and drama, she hopes to impart some of her enthusiasm to her students.

"After college, I was exposed to Kabuki in Japan. That same sense of excitement that The Tale of Genji had elicited led me to focus on Kabuki in graduate studies," she continues.

"I try to engage students through my love of the material and offer them as many opportunities as possible for discussion and practice on writing skills," she says. Often her students are encountering the subject matter for the first time and face a variety of academic challenges.

To help them develop critical thinking skills, Saltzman-Li often assigns small groups to discuss topics in advance of a class meeting and then share their insights with the rest of the class.

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