Kasumi Sminkey
EDUCATION
1998 - 2001 Sheffield University, Sheffield, England
M.A. in Advanced Japanese Studies
Honors: Passed “with distinction”
1985 - 1988 Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
M.A. in English Literature
English GPA 3.94 / 4.0 scale
1981 - 1985 Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania
B.A. in English
Honors: Summa Cum Laude
EXPERIENCE
2004 - present Okinawa International University, Ginowan City, Japan
Professor: Teaches English conversation, speech, debate, writing, interpreting, and translation. Participated on various committees, and served as department chair from 2012 through 2013. Translated university bulletin and all web pages into English.
2000 - 2004 National Institute of Fitness and Sports (Kanoya University), Kanoya City, Japan
Foreign Language Instructor: Taught classes of English conversation, English literature, cross-cultural understanding, and translation. Translated home pages of the university into English and edited academic papers written by teaching staff.
1994 - 2000 Miyazaki University, Miyazaki City, Japan
Assistant Professor: Taught classes of general English, English literature, and cross-cultural understanding. Participated on committees, translated 53-page university information bulletin, and advised students on writing their theses.
1990 - 1993 Kagoshima Board of Education, Kagoshima City, Japan
Assistant English Teacher: Responsible for assisting Japanese English teachers, training teachers in teaching methods, assisting in translation, and occasionally writing articles in Japanese.
1988 - 1990 Bridgeton High School, Bridgeton, NJ
English Teacher: Taught remedial writing, literature, and a special dual-credit class in which students received college credit at Cumberland County College, where I taught part-time.
1985 - 1988 Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Instructor: Taught basic writing classes which focused on grammar and sentence level problems, college level writing class which focused on writing essays and analyzing literature, and also responsible for holistic scoring of placement and proficiency exams.
TRANSLATIONS
In the Woods of Memory. Translation of Me no oku no mori, a full-length novel by Medoruma Shun. Albany, CA: Stone Bridge Press, 2017.
https://www.stonebridge.com/catalog/in-the-woods-of-memory
“Island Confinement.” Translation of “Shimagomori,” a novella by Sakiyama Tami. Appears in Islands of Protest. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2016. 113-160.
https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/islands-of-protest-japanese-literature-from-okinawa/
Ichigensan (The Newcomer). Published translation of Ichigensan, a novel by David Zoppetti. Birchington: Ōzaru Books, 2011.
http://ozaru.net/ozarubooks/ichigensan.html
“Round-trip over the Ocean.” Translation of “Suijō Ōkan,” a short story by Sakiyama Tami. Appears in Living Spirit: Literature and Resurgance in Okinawa. Manoa: 23:1 (Summer 2011). 1-20.
https://www.amazon.co.jp/Living-Spirit-Literature-Resurgence-Okinawa/dp/0824836170
A Rabbit’s Eyes. Published translation of Usagi no Me, a novel by Haitani Kenjirō. New York: Vertical, Inc. Press, 2005.
https://www.readvertical.com/product/a-rabbits-eyes/
Okinawa International University General Information Bulletin (February 2021). Translation of 35-page university information bulletin.
“Annotated Translation of Asada Jirō’s ‘Rabu Retā’ [Love Letter].” Master’s Thesis for Sheffield University (November 2000).
PUBLICATIONS AND PAPERS
“Medoruma Shun Me no oku no mori o yakushite.” Interviewed by Murakami Yōko. Ekkyō Hiroba. Vol. 4 (December 2017): 94-102.
Karajishi column. Wrote biweekly column (13 articles) in Japanese for the Okinawa Times from July 2017 through December 2017.
“Medoruma Shun’s Me no oku no mori.” Journal of Foreign Languages, Okinawa International University. Vol. 16, No. 1 (September 2012): 27-43.
“Sakiyama Tami’s ‘Suijō Ōkan’: Wandering on the Blurred Borders of Identity.” Journal of Foreign Languages, Okinawa International University. Vol. 14, No. 1 (September 2010): 17-39.
“The Frame Structure of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: The Women within the Males’ Discourse.” Journal of Foreign Languages, Okinawa International University. Vol. 12, No. 1 (March 2009): 61-75.
“Learned Helplessness and Prayer in Joyce’s ‘Eveline’.” Southern Review. No. 23 (December 2008): 37-50.
“Sakiyama Tami’s Dance with the Reader in ‘Shimagomoru’: The Fusion of Space and Tim through Ritual.” Journal of Foreign Languages, Okinawa International University. Vol. 11, No. 1 (March 2008): 55-73.
“Haitani Kenjirō’s Usagi no Me: A Challenge to Teachers in the 21st Century.” Journal of Foreign Languages, Okinawa International University. Vol. 9, No. 1 (January 2006): 35-60.
“Korean-Japanese Identity in Kaneshiro Kazuki’s GO.” Annals of Fitness and Sports Sciences. No. 28 (October 2002): 11-22.
“Parody in Joyce’s ‘Counterparts’: The Avoidance of Meaningful Confrontation.” Kyushu Studies in English Literature. No. 18 (March 2001): 25-43.
“Narrator as Supplement: A Deconstruction of Allen Tate’s Reading of Joyce’s ‘The Dead’.” Annals of Fitness and Sports Sciences. No. 25 (March 2001): 25-30.
“An Analysis of Japanese Attitudes During the American Occupation as Seen Through Post-War Japanese Literature.” Annals of Fitness and Sports Sciences. No. 24 (September 2000): 27-33.
“Burakumin Identity and Japanese Identity.” Memoirs of the Faculty of Education and Culture, Miyazaki University. Vol. 2 (March 2000): 1-8.
Miyazaki University General Information Bulletin (1999). English translation of Japanese Information Bulletin.
TOEIC Tesuto Kanzen. Co-authored with Ikuo Sakamoto. A practice TOEIC exam for Japanese students. Tokyo: Nanundo Press, 1999.
“Haitani Kenjirō’s Critique of the Educational System: The Need for Student-Centered Education.” Memoirs of the Faculty of Education, Miyazaki University. Vol. 86 (March 1999): 13-25.
“Virginia Woolf’s Feminist Vision.” Memoirs of the Faculty of Education, Miyazaki University. Vol. 84 (March 1998): 9-20.
“Earnestness in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre: The Anxiety of Truth-Telling and Truth-Reading.” Kyushu Studies in English Literature. No. 14 (March 1997): 1-25.
“Sterne’s Tristram Shandy: A New Paradigm of Narrative Understanding.” Memoirs of the Faculty of Education, Miyazaki University. Vol. 82 (March 1997): 1-6.
“Conrad’s Heart of Darkness: An Allegory of Irony.” Memoirs of the Faculty of Education, Miyazaki University. Vol. 81 (September 1996): 1-8.
Gifts of the Sea. Co-authored with Ikuo Sakamoto. An English textbook for fisheries students. Tokyo: Nanundo Press, 1996.
TOEFL Kanzen Moshi. Co-authored with Ikuo Sakamoto. A practice TOEFL exam for Japanese students. Tokyo: Nanundo Press, 1995.
OTHER
Japanese Language Proficiency Exam—Level 1
Passed (December 1997)