Katarzyna J. Cwiertka

Katarzyna J. Cwiertka is Chair of Modern Japan Studies at Leiden University (Netherlands). She has an MA degree in Japanese Studies from Warsaw University, Poland (1990), an MA degree in Area Studies from Tsukuba University, Japan (1994), and a PhD from Leiden University (1999).

Cwiertka is an established expert on food history of modern Japan and Korea, both as a domain of culture and as a window into historical inquiry that extends beyond the realm of cuisine and nutrition. In her research, food serves as a vehicle to talk about social change and global interconnectedness facilitated by colonialism, war, and cultural imperialism.