People
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Sabine Frühstück

Director, East Asia Center
Distinguished Professor and Koichi Takashima Chair in Japanese Cultural Studies, East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies

Sabine Frühstück is Distinguished Professor and Koichi Takashima Chair, Department of East Asian Languages & Cultural Studies. She is the chief editor of the University of California Press book series, New Interventions in Japanese Studies, and co-editor of the flagship journal, Journal of Japanese Studies. Frühstück studies Japan’s modern and contemporary culture and its relationship to the world. Read more about her scholarship here.

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Shiva Balaghi

Academic Coordinator

Dr. Shiva Balaghi is a cultural historian specializing in the visual culture of the Middle East and its diasporas. She is Academic Coordinator of the Area Global Initiative at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

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Bashar Tarabieh

Financial Analyst

Bashar Tarabieh is Financial Analyst for the Area Global Initiative and the Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies.