Sungwon Heo

Sungwon Heo is a Ph.D. candidate in Cultural Studies and affiliated with East Asian Studies at the University of California, Davis, with Designated Emphases in Critical Theory and Feminist Theory and Research. Sungwon teaches across multiple interdisciplinary programs, including Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies, American Studies, and Asian American Studies. Sungwon’s current project critically reads the transnational formation of queerness in post-Cold War South Korea, alongside critical investigations of militarized modernity, authoritarian developmentalism, and U.S. empire.

Research Interests 

Transnational Queer and Ethnic Studies, Postcolonial Feminist Theory, Critical Theory of Affect and Reading, Critical Militarism, South Korean Social Movements and Cultural Representation

Education

M.A. in Gender Studies, Seoul National University 
B.A. in Religious Studies, Seoul National University 

Honors and Awards

Global Grad Grants, Research Track, Global Affairs, UC Davis, 2025
East Asian Studies Travel Grant, UC Davis, 2025

Service

Student Representative, 2025-26 Admissions Committee, Cultural Studies, UC Davis