Melissa A. Hosek
COLLEGE Lecturer
Stanford Introductory Studies - Civic, Liberal, and Global Education
Bio
Melissa A. Hosek earned her Ph.D. in Chinese from the department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Stanford University. She specializes in modern Chinese literature with interests in environmental humanities, STS (science, technology, and society), and the digital humanities. Her dissertation, "The Ecological Imagination: Nature, Technology, and Criticism in Chinese Science Fiction: 1976-Today," examines how modern Chinese eco-perspectives are informed by and condition ideas about science and technology. She analyzes a wide range of notable science fiction films, novels, and short stories to argue that ideas about ecology are deeply entangled with ideas about scientific progress, but can also serve as a vehicle for critiquing scientific development.
Melissa is also interested in higher education pedagogy and Chinese language teaching and learning. She earned certificates in Language Program Management and ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interviewing from Stanford's Language Center. She has taught classes in Mandarin Chinese, film studies, Chinese literature, and East Asian Studies. In the field of digital humanities, she has developed several projects and received the Graduate Certificate in Digital Humanities from Stanford's Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis. Her other research interests include materialism, science fiction studies, critical theory, and nationalism.
Academic Appointments
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Lecturer, Stanford Introductory Studies - Civic, Liberal, and Global Education
Honors & Awards
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Best Graduate Student Paper, Southwest Conference for Asian Studies (2020)
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Community Impact Award, Stanford Alumni Association (2020)
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Critical Language Scholarship in Chinese, U.S. Department of State (2014-2015)
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Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Grant, Fulbright Taiwan (2014-2015)
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Suma Cum Laude, Hobart and William Smith Colleges (2014)
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Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science Honor Society), Hobart and William Smith Colleges (2014)
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Maynard O. Smith Prize in Political Science, Hobart and William Smith Colleges (2014)
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The Spirit of William Smith Award, Hobart and William Smith College (2014)
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Phi Beta Kappa--Junior Inductee, Hobart and William Smith Colleges (2013)
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Gilman Scholarship, U.S. Department of State (2012)
Professional Education
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PhD, Stanford University, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Chinese (2022)
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MA, Stanford University, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Chinese (2018)
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BA, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Asian Studies, Political Science (2014)
2024-25 Courses
- Citizenship in the 21st Century
COLLEGE 102 (Win) - Utopia, Dystopia, and Technology in Science Fiction
COLLEGE 113 (Spr) - Why College? Your Education and the Good Life
COLLEGE 101 (Aut) -
Prior Year Courses
2023-24 Courses
- Citizenship in the 21st Century
COLLEGE 102 (Win) - Utopia, Dystopia, and Technology in Science Fiction
COLLEGE 113 (Spr) - Why College? Your Education and the Good Life
COLLEGE 101 (Aut)
2022-23 Courses
- Citizenship in the 21st Century
COLLEGE 102 (Win) - Preventing Human Extinction
COLLEGE 107 (Spr) - Why College? Your Education and the Good Life
COLLEGE 101 (Aut)
2021-22 Courses
- Understanding China through Film
THINK 55 (Aut)
- Citizenship in the 21st Century