Susan Thananopavarn

Susan Thananopavarn, PhD, is the Director of Duke’s program in Asian American and Diaspora Studies (AADS) and a Lecturing Fellow in the Thompson Writing Program. Her research interests include contemporary American literature, ethnic studies, and Asian American studies.  Her book, LatinAsian Cartographies: History, Writing, and the National Imaginary (Rutgers UP, 2018), examines how Asian American and Latina/o literary texts can disrupt dominant understandings of U.S. history by “writing back in” histories of imperialism, nativistic racism, border crossings, and LatinAsian contact zones.

At Duke, Susan teaches Writing 120 courses in Asian American studies; “ethnofuturism,” or alternative speculative fiction by writers of color; and exploring human connection in the digital age.  She also teaches courses in Asian American literature and history for Duke’s program in Asian American and Diaspora Studies.

BIO AUGUST 2026