Current Position
Assistant Professor (CT), Dept of History, Washington State University, Vancouver.
Education
PhD in History, Northern Illinois University, Summer 2020
Dissertation Title: “Modern Mandala: A Transnational History of Southeast Asian Youth from Burma, Malaya and Thailand, 1950-1970”
MA in Anthropology, Emory University, 2014
Primary focus: Visual anthropology
Ethnographic film: “Children of God” (25:18) http://vimeo.com/81932084
BA Summa Cum Laude Majors: Anthropology and History, Northern Illinois University, 2012
Minor in Southeast Asian Studies
Thesis: “Stability Through Chaos: The effect of psychiatry on Ethnicization in Colonial Malaya, 1880-1915.”
AA Arts & Social Sciences, William Rainey Harper College, 2009
Archaeology Field Schools: Harper College & Midwest Archaeological Research Services, Summer 2009 and Summer 2010.
Oral History Summer School, Chicago IL, 2016 — Director: Suzanne Snider
Publications include:
“The Figure of the Sportswoman, Sport, and Nationalism in Burma, 1956-70” Journal of Sport History Volume 48, Number 2, Summer 2021: 135-150. URL: https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/jsh/article/48/2/135/293987/The-Figure-of-the-Sportswoman-Sport-and
“Temporary Thais: Circular Thai-U.S. Migration in the 1960s” Journal of American Ethnic History, Volume 40, Issue 4, Summer 2021: 41-85. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/jamerethnhist.40.4.0041
“Burma in the Southeast Asia Peninsula Games, 1950-1970: Buddhism, Bodhisattvas, Decolonization, and Nation Making through Sport,” The International Journal of the History of Sport Supplemental Issue Asian Journal of Sport History and Culture (2020). DOI: 10.1080/09523367.2020.1846527 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09523367.2020.1846527?src=
Book Review, Remaking the Modern World 1900-2015: Global Connections and Comparisons by C.A. Bayly, H-Net August, 2021 https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=56204__;!!JmPEgBY0HMszNaDT!7u4ZljVkpW03Vh3Tx5Ik7oAVTCFUDXzdGfoJ3nkwHfWzRPEKq6dVvh8AT_J9zj5h-Gw$
“Educated Professionals: Thai Women in Transnational Perspective.” Immigration and Ethnic History Society. May 28, 2019. URL: https://iehs.org/joann-losavio-thai-women/
Book Review, Growing Up Female in Multi-ethnic Malaysia, by Cynthia Joseph, Intersections: Gender & Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific, Issue 41, November 2017, http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue41_contents.html
URL: http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue41/losavio_review.pdf
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
“Decolonization & Nation-Building through Transnational Modern Sport in Burma: The Southeast Asian Peninsular Games, Athletes, and Buddhism, 1950-1970.” Paper presentation Northern Illinois University, History Graduate Student Association 12th Annual Conference, DeKalb IL, November 1st, 2019.
“Temporary Thais: Circular Thai-U.S. Migration in the 1960s.” Paper presentation Council of Thai Studies 2019, Madison WI, October 18th-20th, 2019.
“Decolonization & Nation-Building: Modern Competitive Sports, Burmese Athletes, and Buddhism, 1950-1970.” Paper Presentation EuroSEAS 2019, Berlin Germany, September 9th-13th, 2019.
“Educated Professionals: Thai Women in Transnational Perspective, 1965-1970.” Poster Presentation American Historical Association Annual Meeting 2019, Chicago IL, January 3rd-6th, 2019.
“The “Second Wave” of Thai-U.S. Migration: The Peace Corps, Professional Networking, and Higher Education” Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs Annual Meeting, Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN, October 19th-20th, 2018.
“The Campfire Girl & The American Girl: Girls’ Youth Organizations and Novels in the Shaping of Gendered American Ideals, 1910-1921.” Annual Student Symposium for the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, & Sexuality, NIU, April 20th, 2018
“Gowns that tell stories”: The Campfire Girls in the shaping of 20th century American girlhood.” History Graduate Stu- dent Conference, NIU, November 3rd, 2017.
“Elite Thai-US Immigration and Education : Thais, the Peace Corps and Northern Illinois University, 1965-1968.” Sou- theast Asia Student Conference, NIU, April 1, 2017.
“Elite Thai-US Immigration and Education : Thais, the Peace Corps and Northern Illinois University, 1965-1968.” 9th An- nual History Graduate Student Conference, NIU, November 4, 2016.
“Elite Thai-US Immigration and Education : Thais, the Peace Corps and Northern Illinois University, 1965-1968.” Council on Thai Studies Conference, University of Wisconsin-Madison, October 28th-29th, 2016.
“Elite Thai-US Migration : Higher Education, the Peace Corps and Networking at Northern Illinois University 1965-1968,” SEASSI/SALSI/CESSI 2016 Graduate Student Conference, University of Wisconsin-Madison, June 26, 2016.
“The Imperial Gaze : Helen Churchill Candee’s Travelogues of Southeast Asia in the Twilight of the Colonial Era : A Wor- king Paper,” 8th Annual History Graduate Student Association Conference, NIU, November 6, 2015. Awarded Honorable Mention in the Doctoral Category.
“Film as Ethnography : A Pilot Study of Visual and Virtual Media in Chinese Malaysian Identity.” American Anthropologi- cal Association Annual Conference, Chicago, November 20th-24th, 2013.
“Stability Through Chaos: The Use of Psychiatry as a Tool of Social Control in Colonial Malaya, 1880-1917,” Association of Asian Studies Annual Conference, San Diego, March 21st-24th, 2013.
“Stability Through Chaos: The Use of Psychiatry as a Tool of Social Control in Colonial Malaya, 1880-1917,” Annual Cen- ter for Southeast Asian Studies Student Conference, NIU, April 6th, 2012. Awarded Best Paper (Undergraduate Category).
“An American Model of Nature: A Pilot Project in Northern Illinois,” 8th Annual Society for Anthropological Sciences (SASci), Las Vegas, February 2012. Co-authored with Giovanni Bennardo, Maria Rangel, and Curtis Valasek.
“So How Can?” Chinese Malaysian Social Resistance and Malay Political Hegemony,” Annual Center for Southeast Asian Studies Student Conference, NIU, March 2011. Awarded Best Paper (Undergraduate Category).
OTHER PRESENTATIONS
Guest Lecture, “Southeast Asians in Transnational Perspective” with a focus on Asian-Americans and Southeast Asian- American Experiences in the Twentieth Century. March 1st, 2018 for SEAS 225: Crossroads of Southeast Asia.
Film screening, “Children of God” with Q&A, Annual Southeast Asia Student Conference, NIU, March 26, 2016. Film screening, “Children of God”, Emory University, November 2013.
Poster presentation, “A Cultural Model of Nature : A Pilot Project in Northern Illinois,” 3rd Annual Undergraduate Re- search & Artistry Day, NIU, April 2012. Awarded an Honorable Mention.
Poster presentation, “A Cultural Model of Nature : A Pilot Project in Northern Illinois,” Graduate School Student Research Association Conference, NIU, March 2012. Awarded Best Poster Presentation.
Panel on Student Academic and Social Life, Diversity Day, NIU, March 2012.
FELLOWSHIPS, GRANTS & AWARDS (EXTERNAL)
Coordinating Council for Women in History, The Catherine Prelinger Memorial Award 2018, Honorable Mention.
Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) Grant, US Department of Education; Summer 2016; $6,500 to fund language training
FLAS Academic Year Fellowship (Malay), US Department of Education, 2011-12; $5000 + tuition waiver
FLAS Summer Fellowship (Malay), US Department of Education, Summer 2011; $5,000 tuition + $2,500 stipend
FELLOWSHIPS, GRANTS & AWARDS (INTERNAL)
UNIVERSITY
Dissertation Completion Fellowship 2019-2010 (Part Time Status), Northern Illinois University, Tuition Waiver.
Carter G. Woodson Fellowship (2 years) 2017-2018 & 2018-2019, Northern Illinois University; $19,000 + tuition waiver
Carter G. Woodson Fellowship, Northern Illinois University, 2017-2018; $19,000 + tuition waiver
Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program (URAP) Award, NIU, 2011-2012; $1,000
Undergraduate Special Opportunities in Artistry & Research (USOAR), NIU, Fall 2012; $1,500 (declined to accept URAP)
Study Abroad Travel Grant, NIU, Summer 2011; $1,000
COLLEGE
Adjunct Faculty Award for Excellence (Teaching) 2019, Kishwaukee College, Arts, Communications, and Social Sciences Division (Nominated).
Dean’s Award, Department of History, NIU, 2012; $100 + Book Prize
Dean’s List, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, NIU, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Betty & Matt Cockerell Scholarship, William Rainey Harper College, 2009; $1,000
DEPARTMENTAL
Large Grant 2018, History Department, Northern Illinois University; $1,000 Hayter-Young Grant 2018, History Department, Northern Illinois University; $250
Mothers Memorial Scholarship, The Center for the Study of Women, Gender, & Sexuality, Northern Illinois University, 2018-2019; $750
Hugh Jameson Graduate Student Essay Prize, History Department, Northern Illinois University, 2018; $250 Department of History Graduate Teaching Assistantship, NIU, 2015-2017; tuition waiver and stipend Hayter-Young Grant, Northern Illinois University, Summer 2016; $500 to fund research methods training Pilot Research Funding, Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Summer 2013; $2,500
Best Anthropology Photograph, Department of Anthropology, Emory University Outstanding Undergraduate Award, Department of Anthropology, NIU, 2012 James Shirley Award for Asian History, NIU, 2012; $500 + book prize
Oscar Matasar History Scholarship, NIU, Spring 2010; $1,000
Study Abroad Travel Grant, NIU, 2010 $1,000
CENTER FOR SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES
Clark & Arlene Neher Graduate Scholarship for the Study of Southeast Asia, 2019-2020, Northern Illinois University; $5,000 + Full Tuition Waiver
RELEVANT EMPLOYMENT
Northern Illinois University.
Graduate Assistant Project Co-ordinator,
Oral History Project for the 125th Anniversary of Northern Illinois University.
Funded by the NIU President’s Office. Summer and Fall 2019. Duties include grant writing, archival research, contacting and organizing interviews, equipment management, transcription management, teaching duties.
Kishwaukee College.
Instructor of Record, Anthropology Dept., Fall 2018 and Spring 2019
Courses: ANT 120 (Fall 2018, Face to Face), ANT 120 (Spring 2019, Face to Face), ANT 120 (Spring 2019, Online)
Northern Illinois University.
Instructor of Record, History Dept., Summer Session 2018 and Fall 2018
Courses: HIST 261 American History Since 1865 (online), HIST 171 World History Since 1500
Northern Illinois University. Center for the Study of Women, Gender, & Sexuality, NIU. Student Worker, October, 2017 – May 2018
Northern Illinois University.
Co-Instructor, Department of History, Spring 2017
Course taught: HIST 480: History of the C.I.A. (online format)
Northern Illinois University.
Teaching Assistant, Department of History, NIU, Fall 2015, Spring & Fall 2016, Spring-Fall 2019 Courses taught:
HIST 112: Western Civilization since 1815
HIST 261: American History since 1865
HIST 140: Asia to 1500
HIST 170: World History Before 1500
HIST 494/594: Oral History Methods
Emory University
Teaching Assistant, Department of Anthropology, Spring 2013
Course taught: Anthropology 331: Cross Cultural Perspectives in Mental Health
Gray & Pape Inc.
Phase 1 Archeology Field Technician, Gray & Pape Inc, July – August 2015
Project: #15-35801 (Field Director: Robert Williams, Primary Investigator: Christina Kelly)
Midwest Archaeological Research Services
Phase 1 Archeology Field Technician, April 2015 Project: ComEd
Northern Illinois University,
Research Assistant, Department of Anthropology, Fall 2011-Spring 2012
Metaphor Analysis of Northern Illinois Perspectives on the Environment and Nature (PI: Dr Giovanni Bennardo)
Northern Illinois University,
Research Assistant, Online Multimedia Dictionary of Modern Malay, CSEAS, Fall 2010-Spring 2011 Project funded by the US Department of Education (PI Dr James T. Collins)
Midwest Archaeological Services Inc. and William Rainey Harper College Laboratory Assistant, Macktown Summer Field School, Summer 2010
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Undocumented Ally Training, Northern Illinois University, November 21st, 2017
Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center, Northern Illinois University, Spring and Fall 2017 Building Learning Communities Workshop
Designing and Revising a Course Syllabus Workshop
Creative Ways to Introduce Play into your Classroom
Developing a Course Syllabus Ensuring Quality in your Online Course
Graduate Teaching Certificate, Northern Illinois University, September, 2017
Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI), University of Madison-Wisconsin, Summer 2016 Intensive Burmese Language Study
Preparing Future Faculty: Focus on Diversity and Minorities in the Professoriate. NIU, October 2015. Facilitated by Dr Janice Hamlet.
Grant Writing Workshop, Emory University, September 25-27, 2013. Facilitated by Dr H. Russell Bernard.
Grant Proposal Writing Institute Workshop, Emory University, September 29-30, 2012. Facilitated by Dr Corinne Kratz and Dr Mark Risjord.
Intensive Malay Language Program, Universiti Malaya Pahang, Malaysia, Summer 2012
Archaeology Technician Assistant, Midwest Archaeological Research Services, 2009-2010 Paid Internship with Dr. Rochelle Lurie and Dr Cathy Bird
LANGUAGES OF RESEARCH
English (native speaker) Cantonese (native speaker) Malay (advanced) Burmese (introductory)
SERVICE
NIU 125th Anniversary Commemoration Oral History Project (In Progress, Summer and Fall 2019)
Graduate Assistant and Teaching Assistant for a joint project between the Dept. of History, NIU and the Regional History Center at Founders Memorial Library, Dekalb, IL marking the 125th anniversary of the university.
Latinx History Workshop, April 12th 2019
Assistant Organizer under Dr Beatrix Hoffman
Event funded by the Hainds Endowment, NIU Foundation to collaborate and share teaching resources with historians of Latinx history across Illinois in high schools, community colleges, and four-year institutions; specifically for survey level history courses and educators of these courses.
The Center for the Study of Women, Gender, & Sexuality
Organizer of the Annual Student Symposium, April 20th, 2018 Graduate Student Advisor on the CSWGS Major Proposal Committee Student Worker, 2017-2018
Tasks include Graduate Colloquium Proposal Writing & Organizing Outreach Events for Students & Program Advisors
56th & 57th Annual Northern Regional History Fair 2018 & 2019
Judge for papers written by 6-8th grade students for the National History Day Contest, 2018 & 2019 Judge for posters at the fair event, February 24th, 2018.
History Graduate Student Association Northern Illinois University
8th Annual Conference Organizer, 2016 Vice-President, 2016-17
Member, 2015-present
Center for Southeast Asian Studies
Conference on Teaching Southeast Asia to Undergraduates Student Panel, 2012
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Student Advisory Council
Undergraduate Representative for the Department of History, 2011-2012
Catholic Charities, Atlanta, Georgia
After School Tutor for Refugee Children, 2014-2015
Visual Scholarship Initiative Emory University
Treasurer, 2013-14
Dr JoAnn LoSavio 