Vivian Shaw

Mellon Assistant Professor of Asian Studies (Asian American)

Vivian Shaw is a sociologist and feminist ethnographer, who specializes in Asian American Studies and global-comparative Asian Studies. She is the Lead Researcher (co-PI) for the AAPI COVID-19 Project, a multi-method investigation into the impacts of the pandemic on the lives of Asian American and Pasifika communities, in collaboration with the Department of Sociology at Harvard University. Vivian earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin with graduate portfolios in Asian American Studies and Women’s & Gender Studies. At Harvard University, Vivian was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Weatherhead Center for International Relations’ Program on U.S.-Japan Relations from 2018-2019 and a College Fellow in the Department of Sociology from 2019-2021.

Vivian is the author of several articles and chapters, including “Strategies of Ambivalence: Cultures of Liberal Antifa in Japan,” in Radical History Review and “‘Extreme Pressure’: Gendered Negotiations of Violence and Vulnerability in Japanese Anti-Racism Movements,” in Critical Asian Studies (2019). Vivian’s research has received grants and awards from the National Science Foundation, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (jointly awarded by the Social Science Research Council), the Natural Hazards Center, and other institutions.

Prior to her time in academia, Vivian worked with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in maternal-child health policy and program administration.