I'm thrilled to announce that I've accepted an offer for admission in the graduate program at the University of Oregon! #GoDucks 🦆

I am very excited to pursue a new experience at the University of Oregon, this time in the MA program for East Asian Studies (specifically in Literature and Languages) starting Fall 2024. This opportunity is not only personally exciting but also a significant step towards achieving my ultimate goal of pursuing a PhD program, ideally in Comparative Literature. I'm eager to see how this experience will shape my future academic endeavors.

Panel Description: A panel examining Japan's rich spiritual heritage, including Shintoism, yōkai mythology, and the impact of these beliefs and myths on Japanese animation and manga. Using the series "Natsume Yuujinchou" as the frame for this discussion, this panel demonstrates how the yōkai mythos continues to find a place in modern society.

Optional Formats: 15 min. | 30 min. | 60 min. Presentation

Presented: 

• Anime Expo; Los Angeles, CA | July 2024 (Academic Track) - 15 min.

Panel Description: Due to the pandemic, many tourists faced travel restrictions and were unable to visit their desired destinations around the world. Japan was among the countries with strictest measures. Though Japan’s tourism restrictions were lifted in October 2022, some individuals may still be wary of traveling abroad. In this panel, the audience will explore how to embark on a virtual pilgrimage to some of your favorite places in Japan by using anime as the inspiration and Google Maps for visual aids. The host will teach you how to enhance your virtual journey with research techniques to add to your cultural knowledge, using "Detective Conan,” also called "Case Closed," to demonstrate how to create a virtual pilgrimage and provide a few case studies for reference.

Optional Formats: 30 min. | 60 min. Presentation

Presented: 

• Anime Expo; Los Angeles, CA | July 2024 (Academic Track) - 60 min.

Panel Description: This panel on starting and running an anime blog is an insightful and practical session that provides aspiring bloggers with the essential knowledge and tools to embark on their anime blogging journey! We cover topics such as niche selection, content creation, building a reader base, SEO strategies, social media promotion, and monetization techniques. Attendees receive valuable tips, personal anecdotes, and best practices to effectively engage with the anime community, cultivate their unique voices, maintain consistency, and navigate potential challenges. By the end of the session, participants are equipped with the necessary skills and inspiration to launch (and, hopefully, sustain) a successful anime blog!

Optional Formats: 30 min. Presentation | 60 min. Presentation

Presented: 

• Anime Expo; Los Angeles, CA | July 2024 (Academic Track) - 15 min.

Panel Description: This panel on starting and managing a blog is an informative and practical session that equips aspiring bloggers with essential knowledge and tools to begin their blogging journey! Join as the presenter explores areas such as niche selection, content creation, audience building, communication strategies, and a few monetization techniques to those starting out. The objective is for those attending to gain valuable insights through some general information and personal anecdotes on the best practices to effectively engage with their community, develop their unique voices, maintain consistency, and navigate potential challenges. By the end of the session, participants should be well equipped with the necessary skills and inspiration to launch or relaunch (and, hopefully, sustain) a successful blog!

Optional Formats: 60 min. Presentation

Presented:

• Sigma Tau Delta International Convention; Denver, CO | March/April 2024 - 60 min.

  • Was unable to attend the convention; but was able to share the presentation online

Role: Writing Instructor in the Department of English at Irvine Valley College.

From December of 2021 to present day, I have been working at Irvine Valley College. First in a supplemental instructional role as an "Embedded Tutor," also called a Teaching Assistant/TA or an Instructional Aid/IA. In that role, I provided administrative work (setting up, managing Canvas systems, etc.); editorial and qualitative feedback on student work; assist professors with tech support and information gathering for classes; and teach/assist in portions of the WR1, WR2, and WR2H courses on rhetorical analysis, academic writing, researching, and more. 

As of January 2024, I started a new role at IVC, that role being a Writing Instructor in the Department of English. 

Accomplishments:

• In 2022, I created an Embedded Tutor website for the Department of English as a source to host information and workshop samples for others in a similar role. It can be viewed here: https://sites.google.com/ivc.edu/ivcet 

  • Link to workshops and lecture samples

• Mentioned in the President's Report for the August 28, 2023, Board of Trustees Meeting for speaking at Anime Expo | https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/socccd/Board.nsf/files/CUSNB65F0483/$file/IVC%20President's%20Report%20August%202023%20Final.pdf 

Editor of The Anime View at theanimeview.com.

Founded by me, Peggy Sue Wood, in 2013, The Anime View started as an outlet for my obsession with the anime and manga I was viewing at the time. It has since developed from a solo blog to a blogging team, wherein we aim to create content that provides our audience of anime and manga fans with a mix of content that engages the mind to look critically at the media we love and consume.

Content Creator behind LitGradLife at litgradlife.com.

In 2022, I felt totally lost in my personal life. I wanted to write but hadn't been able to do so consistently for a few years outside of my anime blog or work. I decide to restart my personal blog, this time under a pen name to give me a bit of mental separation. 

I chose a new name to give me a chance to release my work without the same bias or predispositions I have been holding towards myself and my work for the last few years. I chose a name that was still mine, in a sense, but also not mine... and it worked! I've been kicking out content there weekly (sometimes multiple times a week) under the name "Margret Wood" and will probably continue to use this pen name/persona for the rest of my writing career!