Assistant Professor of Japanese and Japanese Program Coordinator
World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Contact
(860) 832-2892
mchudnow@ccsu.edu
Office
Willard-DiLoreto Hall
D403-08
Biography

Matthew Chudnow is an Assistant Professor of Japanese and the Japanese Program Coordinator at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), where he teaches courses on Japanese language, cultural history, and socio-religious topics. He has also worked in the government sector at the Japan Information Culture Center (JICC), Embassy of Japan, Washington DC. His professional service has involved receiving funding for and coordinating a study tour of the Consulate-General of Japan in Boston for over twenty CCSU Japanese Program students in fall 2022. Prof. Chudnow has also acted as an official 2023 JET Program interviewer for Northeast Regional finalists and will serve in this role again in 2024. Finally, he is a recipient of a Kakehashi Project grant from the Japan International Cooperation Center (JICE) and assisted in guiding seven CCSU Japanese Minors on a fully funded Japan study trip to Tokyo and Matsuyama City, Ehime prefecture from March 7-15, 2024. His current research focuses on interdisciplinary analysis of female soteriology in Muromachi period Noh theater. He also works on the history and development of traditional Japanese martial arts, especially their religious, political, and intercultural aspects.

Education
PhD, East Asian Languages and Literatures
University of California, Irvine
2017
MA, East Asian Langauges and Literatures
The Ohio State University
2007
BA, Japanese Studies
Connecticut College
2002
Areas of Expertise
  • Noh theater and tradtional Japanese performance traditions.
  • Japanese cultural history (classical, medieval, and modern).
  • Classical and medieval Japanese literature.
  • Japanese martial arts in socio-political and religious context.
  • Buddhism, shamanism, and ritual in Japan and East Asia.
  • Topics and problems related to Japanese colonialism and militarism.
  • Gender studies in premodern and modern Japan and East Asia.
  • Japanese language pedagogy (contemporary and classical).
  • Japanese sacred art.
Publications, Research & Presentations

“The Dynamics of Nyōnin jōbutsu in Zenchiku’s Yōkihi: Honzetsu, Poetic Allusion, and Sacred Space.” in Carolina Negri, ed. Images from the Past: Intertextuality in Japanese Premodern Literature, Ca’ Foscari University Press, Venice: 2022.

Awards & Grants

Kakehashi Project Recipient (Central Connecticut State University), Japan International Cooperation Center (JICE), 2024.

Central Connecticut State University Academic Enrichment Grant, 2022.

Fulbright Graduate Research Fellow Scholarship plus Fulbright 3-Month Extension, Project: “Soteriology in the Female Spirit Noh of Konparu Zenchiku,” Nogami Memorial Noh Theater Institute, Hōsei University, Japan. September 1, 2013-November 28, 2014.

Memberships & Affiliations

American Academy of Religion (AAR).
American Association of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ).
Association of Asian Studies (AAS).

Courses Taught

Japanese Languages
Japanese 111: Elementary Japanese I (2 sections, Fall).
Japanese 112: Elementary Japanese II (Spring).
Japanese 125: Intermediate Japanese I (Fall).
Japanese 126: Intermediate Japanese II (Spring).
Japanese 225: Intermediate Japanese III (Fall).
Japanese 226: Intermediate Japanese IV (Spring).

Humanities
Humanities 100-01: East Asian Humanities (Spring).
Humanities 100-04: Japan in the World (Fall).
Humanities/International Studies 230-02: Development of Japanese Martial Arts (Spring).