Alan Williams

Activities and Interests

I'm a scholar, lecturer, and creative writer. My research interests are in queer studies, Asian American and ethnic studies, transpacific studies (primarily US-Japan), and cultural studies. My scholarly work has been featured in American Studies, Journal of Asian American Studies, Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific, and Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. Notably, I also contributed the chapter "Queer Histories of Colonial Modernity" to the Oxford Handbook of LGBTQ History (forthcoming). As a lecturer at UW, I've taught composition, interdisciplinary writing across the humanities and social sciences, Asian American literature, and cultural studies.

My creative writing includes a queer Mormon novel titled Ockham's Razor (2009). I'm currently at work on a queer (Boys' Love-style) political/ecofantasy novel.

My scholarly book project under development is titled Queer Liberal Humanism across the US-Japan Entanglement. Using the US-Japan or Nichibei relation as a case study, the book will analyze the intersection of racialization and queer exclusion/inclusion in order to better elucidate the workings of 19th- to 21st-century empire.

Summaries and links to my publications can be found on my personal website.