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Core Faculty

SEAP has 27 core members, whose collective knowledge of Southeast Asia amounts to one of the world’s greatest concentrations of expertise on this region. This includes 19 professors, 6 senior language lecturers, 1 senior music lecturer, and 1 library curator. Our language faculty teach four levels of study in Burmese, Indonesian, Khmer, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese.

Senior Lecturer, Thai

Ngampit Jagacinski received both her PhD and MA in Chinese Linguistics at Ohio State University. She has taught Thai language in the Department of Asian Studies since 2000.

Senior Lecturer, Burmese

Yu Yu Khaing has been teaching Burmese at Cornell since 2015 and has developed a variety of teaching materials including multimedia courses. She continues to expand her offerings on the Web Audio Lab platform.

Andrew J. Nathanson Family Professor of Industrial Relations

Sarosh Kuruvilla is Cornell University's Andrew J. Nathanson Family Professor of Industrial Relations, Asian Studies, and Public Affairs. He is also a visiting professor at the London School of Economics.

Professor, History

Tamara Loos is professor of history and Asian studies. Her most recent book, Bones around My Neck: The Life and Exile of a Prince Provocateur (2016), tells the story of Prince Prisdang Chumsai (1852–1935).

Associate Professor

Shaoling Ma is an interdisciplinary scholar and critical theorist of global Chinese history, literature, and media.

Associate Professor, History of Art

Kaja McGowan’s studies the reciprocal relationships between neighboring countries in South and Southeast Asia.

Senior Lecturer, Music

Christopher Miller is a scholar and musician whose interests and activities revolve around two points of focus: experimental music, and the music of Indonesia, especially Central Javanese gamelan.

Senior Lecturer, Indonesian

Jolanda Pandin joined the Department of Asian Studies in August 2006.

Walter F. LaFeber Professor, Government
Thomas Pepinsky is the Walter F. LaFeber Professor of Government in the College of Arts and Sciences and a professor in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy.
Senior Lecturer, Khmer

Hannah Phan received her MA from Cornell University's professional studies program for international development in 1998.