Frank Mondelli is a cultural and material historian of modern Japan. His research and teaching interests focus on the material and cultural history of Japanese technology, media, and disability, including the history and politics of assistive technologies, videogames, and traditional craftwork. His current book manuscript explores the historical intersection of D/deafness, music, and technological and media spectacle in 20th century and contemporary Japan. His academic research is deeply influenced by his work in disability and Deaf rights advocacy in both the United States and Japan. He has taught courses in Japanese videogames, literature, and culture, as well as in Science and Technology Studies (STS).
Frank has organized and chaired panels for conferences like the Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS), the Association for Asian Studies (AAS), and the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT). He has given invited talks at institutions like Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University, the Japan-U.S. Educational Commission, the American Printing House for the Blind, Fukuyama University, Rikkyo University, Nanzan University, Hōsei University, and more. He also believes passionately in merging academic research with social activism and artistic practice, and has organized conferences like “Mediations: Disability, Technology, and the Arts” at Stanford University, which featured research talks, art installations, and a dance performance. He is also an executive committee member of the Mid-Atlantic Region Association for Asian Studies.
Frank’s other interests include music (jazz and metal keyboard, guitar, and keytar), cycling, shogi (Japanese chess), and bouldering.
Education
- Ph.D. Stanford University
- B.A. Swarthmore College
Areas of Specialization
- Japanese Material Culture and History
- Media Studies
- Disability Studies
- Game Studies
- Japanese Pop Culture
Select Articles and Book Chapters
Putting Virtual Reality to Disability Activism: Co-Creation and Intersectional Pedagogical Usage in Japan,
International Journal of Disability and Social Justice Vol 4 (1), Co-Authorship with Mark Bookman and Setsuko Yokoyama
Visible Vowels and Listening Limbs: Assistive Erasure in Japanese Publics
Osiris Vol 39, pp 150 – 166
Beautiful Sounds, Beautiful Life: Hearing Aids and Music in 1950s Japan Technology and Culture
Vol 63 No 4, pp 1057 – 1077
“Othering Masculinities: Disability and Chivalry in Yakuza and Yakuza 0”
The Handbook of Japanese Games and Gameplay (Amsterdam University Press, ed. Rachael Hutchinson) Co-Authorship with Rachael Hutchinson
“Media, Semiotics, and Social Reform in Persona 5” JRPG: The Japanese Role-Playing Game (Lexington Books, ed. Rachael Hutchinson and Jérémie Pelletier-Gagnon), pp 193 – 212
Select Honors and Awards
STS Director’s Award for Advancing Social Justice in Science, Technology, and Medicine
Stanford University Program in Science, Technology & Society
Fulbright Graduate Research Fellow for Dissertation Research in Japan Waseda University, Tokyo
Fulbright U.S. Student Program Research Award
University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa