Mew Jiang

This is a photo of me with two plushies. I travel with my plushie friends. On the right, the yellow/tangerine creature is MewMew, my imaginary friend, designed by me. On the left, the tiny critter is Lacunar. A friend of mine in China designed the plushie and mailed it to me all the way to Oregon.

Degree: PhD, Art History (Japanese Art)

Expected Graduation Date: Spring 2026

Prior Degree
BFA in Painting and Art History, Minor in East Asian Language and Civilizations, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL

MA in Japanese Art History, University of Chicago, IL, 2020.

2022-2023 Scholarship
Amy and Ross Kari Endowed Fund in Art History Marian Donnelly Student Award

I Am Originally From Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

WHY I CAME TO THE UO AND HOW I CHOSE MY MAJOR
I chose the University of Oregon because my advisor Dr. Akiko Walley is interested in my research project and the university has impressive collections of East Asian materials in the art museum and the library. I am grateful for the resources I have at the UO and enjoy working with my colleagues in the College of Design. Besides, the campus is very scenic.

I am a painter and I love Japanese art. I enjoy learning about its production, consumption, and circulation.

UNIQUE QUALITIES I BRING TO MY STUDIES
I am an international student from Guangzhou, China. I have experience working in Chinese museums and studying and researching in Japan.

MY INFLUENTIAL PROFESSORS
Dr. Akiko Walley is an inspiring mentor for me. I have been learning a lot from her engaging teaching style in her classes and have benefited from her guidance in my PhD program.

MY EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
I am involved in the Art History Student Association at the UO and hope to contribute more to art history student networking on campus.

MY GREATEST LEARNING EXPERIENCE AT UO
Classes in the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art have been offering me wonderful opportunities to carefully examine art objects from the rich Japanese art collection.

AFTER GRADUATION
I plan to work in a museum to research art objects and work with community engagement programs. However, after coming to the UO and working as a Graduate Employee teaching classes, I am becoming more interested in teaching and hope to explore more teaching opportunities at the college level.

YOUR GIFT
I received the Amy & Ross Kari Endowed Fund to support my trip to present at the Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference in Boston, March 2023 (AAS 2023). I will present a paper based on my research of a print in the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art collection concerning Meiji Empire’s industrialization and colonialism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Presenting at the AAS 2023 conference is a prestigious opportunity, and I am fortunate to attend and to receive a fund that aids my travel by covering the airfare and part of my expenses. I also received the Marian Donnelly Travel Award to help cover my expenses for my trip to present at a graduate student symposium at the Cleveland Museum of Art in September 2022. I presented my paper on Japanese aesthetic and the question of originality in art history by relating to the Western art historical concept Primitivism, which called attention to the regional and conceptual conversation between European and Japanese art in the early twentieth century and situated Japanese art within the larger global art history.

Thank you very much for supporting my study and research at the UO Through these scholarships. As an international student, I do not have many opportunities to travel, so I always enjoy presenting at conferences as a way to visit new places in the U.S. Your generous financial support helps relieve my concerns about budgets. Thank you again for this kind support. It helps keep me moving on with my study and research. I also hope to give back to the UO community one day with my knowledge and skills in the humanities.