91Â鶹ӳ»­

Visiting Assistant Professor

Asian Studies

Mengqi “Mercy” An is a literary scholar whose research explores Chinese and comparative literature through the lenses of modernity, environment, and gender. She is working on her first book project, Ecologizing Modernism: Writing with the Nonhuman in Manchuria, which takes Manchuria - a critical borderland of modern East Asia—as a site of dynamic human–nonhuman interactions. Reading Sinophone and Russophone authors side by side, the study uncovers how Chinese native-soil writers and Russian writer-naturalists engaged in conscious, interrelated literary efforts to forge ethical relations with the nonhuman world. In their shared response to environmental and political crises, the nonhuman Other emerges as a co-author who disrupts conventional colonial-resistance binaries in the transnational literary landscape.

Her teaching and advising interests include Chinese language and literature, cultural studies, East Asian ecocriticism, women authors of East Asia, and Sino-Russian comparative literature. She is a strong advocate for multilingual justice and student mental health, and is committed to promoting collaborative research, multicultural competence, and community-based learning at 91Â鶹ӳ»­.

Students interested in her classes or seeking guidance for projects are encouraged to get in touch via email.

2025-2026 Classes

PA111 Introduction to Asian Studies

PA250 Topics in Asian Studies: Animals, Plants, and Monsters in Chinese Literature

PA250 Topics in Asian Studies: Gender and Feminism in Asia

PA250 Topics in Asian Studies: Pop Culture in Asia

PA250 Topics in Asian Studies: Reimagining Asia through China and Russia