Research
As a scholar, Dr. Kimura’s research interests are interdisciplinary and intersect with Critical and Cultural Studies, Critical Race/Ethnic Studies, Gender and Sexuality, Representation and Performance, Asian/American Studies, Japanese Cultural Studies, and Globalization and Transnationalism.
Publications
Kimura, K. (2025, online first). Dating online as ESL, Japanese, and Asian, all at once: Racialized relational politics of Japaneseness. Communication Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2025.2460236
Kimura, K., & Eguchi, S. (2024). Queer of color approaches to Critical Cultural Media Studies. In S. Ramasubramanian & O. Banjo (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Media and Social Justice (pp. 70-77). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197744345.013.8
Kimura, K., & Peavy, A. (forthcoming, 2024). Beyond antiracist pedagogy: Theorizing multiracial learning space and praxis in envisioning the future of U.S. classroom. In P. A. Sasso, D. Dos, & M. D. Nour (Eds.), Blurring boundaries and binaries: Belonging, gender, & mixed heritages in higher education in the United States. Information Age Publishing.
Kimura, K. (2024). [Review of the book Regimes of Desire: Young Gay Men, Media, and Masculinity in Tokyo by Thomas Baudinette]. Journal of Japanese Studies 50(2), 526-531. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/933812
Kimura, K. (2023). [Review of the film 昨日何食べた？ (What Did You Eat Yesterday?)]. QED: A Journal of GLBTQ Worldmaking 10(2), 191-195. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/923729
Kimura, K. (2023). Transnational(izing) politics of “mix” body: A critical autoethnography of hafu identity and performance. In A. Atay, S. Eguchi, & G. Pindi (Eds.), Transnationalizing critical intercultural communication: Legacy, relevance, and future (pp. 243-268). Peter Lang. http://doi.org/10.3726/b17468
Kimura, K. (2022). [Review of the book Insurgent aesthetics: Security and the queer life of the forever war by Ronak K. Kapadia]. QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking 8(2), 177-180. https://muse.jhu.edu/
Kimura, K. (2021). “Yellow perils,” revived: Exploring racialized Asian/American affect and materiality through hate discourse over the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Hate Studies, 17(1), 133-145. http://doi.org/10.
Kimura, K. (2021). Voices of in/visible minority: Homogenizing discourse of Japaneseness in Hafu: The Mixed-Race Experience in Japan. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 50(3), 254-272. https://doi.org/10.
Eguchi, S., & Kimura, K. (2021). Racialized im/possibilities: Intersectional queer-of-color critique on Japaneseness in Netflix’s Queer Eye: We’re in Japan! Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 14(3), 221-239. https://doi.org/10.
Conference Participation
Competitive Papers
Kimura, K. (February, 2025). Dating online as ESL, Japanese, and Asian: Relational politics of Japaneseness. Western States Communication Association (WSCA), Language, Self and Social Construction Interest Group’s Top Paper Award, Albuquerque, NM.
Kimura, K. (November 2024). “I am not masculine enough, but in a good way”: Embodying otokorashisa in U.S. online dating. National Communication Association (NCA), International and Intercultural Communication Division’s Top Faculty Paper Award, New Orleans, LA.
Kim, S., & Kimura, K. (April, 2024). Defying political gravity: Asian American affective and tactical narratives about Ailing Eileen Gu. Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS), Seattle, WA.
Kimura, K. (November, 2023). Recuperating heterogeneity: Autoethnographic tales of hafu. National Communication Association (NCA), Japan-U.S. Communication Association’s Top Faculty Paper Award, National Harbor, MD.
Kimura, K., & Eguchi, S. (November, 2023). Deconstructive possibilities: Applications of queer of color approaches in critical cultural media studies. National Communication Association (NCA), Critical and Cultural Studies Division, National Harbor, MD.
Kimura, K., & Peavy, A. (November, 2023). Beyond antiracist pedagogy: Theorizing multiracial learning space and praxis in envisioning the future of U.S. classroom. National Communication Association (NCA), Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, National Harbor, MD.
Kimura, K., & Kim, S. (November, 2022). Model immigrant athletes: Racialized and gendered discourse constructed around Asian American female athletes in U.S. news media. National Communication Association (NCA), Asian/Pacific American Communication Studies Division, New Orleans, LA.
Kimura, K. (May, 2022). “Actually, I’m Hafu”: Transnational(izing) politics of Japan’s “mix” identity and body. International Communication Association (ICA), Intercultural Communication Division, Paris, France.
Kimura, K. (November, 2021). The politics of (hetero)sexual desire: A critical intercultural critique on imaginaries of Japanese masculinity in the U.S. online dating. National Communication Association (NCA), Ethnography Division, Seattle, WA.
Kimura, K. (May, 2021). “Yellow perils,” revived: Exploring racialized Asian/American affect and materiality through hate discourse over the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. International Communication Association (ICA), Intercultural Communication Division, Virtual Conference (originally scheduled in Denver, CO).
Kimura, K. (November, 2020). Am I Japanese enough?: Racialized homogenizing discourse of white/Japanese-ness in Hafu: The Mixed-Race Experience in Japan. National Communication Association (NCA), International and Intercultural Communication Division, Virtual Conference (originally scheduled in Indianapolis, IN).
Kimura, K., Kanemoto, E., & Hanasono, L. (November, 2020). Crossroad-ing non-/Western racial discourses: A transnational approach to critical race theory in the United States and Japan. National Communication Association (NCA), International and Intercultural Communication Division, Virtual Conference (originally scheduled in Indianapolis, IN).
Eguchi, S. & Kimura, K. (November, 2020). Racialized im/possibilities: Homonationalizing Japaneseness in Queer Eye: We’re in Japan! National Communication Association (NCA), Critical/Cultural Studies Division, Virtual Conference (originally scheduled in Indianapolis, IN).
Hanasono, L., Kanemoto, E., & Kimura, K. (November, 2020). At the crossroads: A cross-cultural investigation of Japanese and U.S. consumers’ responses to racial representations in advertising. National Communication Association (NCA), Asian/Pacific American Caucus, Virtual Conference (originally scheduled in Indianapolis, IN).
Kanemoto, E., Kimura, K., & Hanasono, K. L. (April, 2020). Breakthroughs and boundaries: A cross-cultural examination at the intersection of race and gender. Central States Communication Association (CSCA), Intercultural Communication Interest Group’s Top Paper Award, Chicago, IL.
Kimura, K. (February, 2020). “I Want to Feel Belonging”: Voices of (in)visible minority in Japan. Western States Communication Association (WSCA), Intercultural Communication Interest Group, Denver, CO.
Kimura, K. (November, 2019). “Don’t be controlled by adults”: An Exploration of Japaneseness Through Keyakizaka46. National Communication Association (NCA), International and Intercultural Communication Division, Baltimore, MD.
Kimura, K. (November, 2018). Representation and reception of whitewashing in Hollywood adaptations of Japanese manga and anime. National Communication Association (NCA), Asian/Pacific American Caucus, Salt Lake City, UT.
Kimura, K. (November, 2018). “Nihonjin Dewa Nai”: Media representations of Japanese culture and ideology in The Last Samurai. National Communication Association (NCA), Japan-U.S. Communication Association, Salt Lake City, UT.
Kimura, K. (April, 2018). The role of translation in Spirited Away. Central State Communication Association (CSCA), Graduate Student Caucus, Milwaukee, WI.
Kimura, K. (March, 2018). Gung Ho!: Media representations of Japanese identity. Popular Culture Association (PCA), Film Area, Indianapolis, IN.
Panel/Roundtable
Kimura, K. (November, 2024). Showing up, regardless: Rethinking academic work as cultural labor through negation, tension, and praxis. National Communication Association (NCA), Activism and Social Justice Division, New Orleans, LA.
Kimura, K. (November, 2024). Communicating greater regard for mentoring and community-building in the international and intercultural communication division. National Communication Association (NCA), International and Intercultural Communication Division, New Orleans, LA.
Kimura, K. (November, 2024). Japan-U.S. communication research agenda and scholarship beyond Western-centered theories and practices: Future research collaboration for greater regard. National Communication Association (NCA), Japan-U.S. Communication Association, New Orleans, LA.
Kimura, K. (November, 2024). Boys love (BL)’s reconfigurations of Asia: Communicating feminist and queer Asian digital spaces for greater regard. National Communication Association (NCA), Asian/Pacific American Communication Studies Division & Caucus, New Orleans, LA.
Kimura, K. (February, 2024). Intercultural communication studies at crossroads: Freedoms and futures. Western States Communication Association (WSCA), Intercultural Communication Interest Group, Reno, NV.
Kimura, K. (February, 2024). Reflecting “colonized intellectuals” as decolonial possibilities in institutional power structures. Western States Communication Association (WSCA), Intercultural Communication Interest Group, Reno, NV.
Kimura, K. (February, 2024). The politics of possibility and precarity: Navigating shifting relational networks for emerging instructors and faculty. Western States Communication Association (WSCA), Organization for Feminist Research on Gender and Communication, Reno, NV.
Kimura, K. (November, 2023). Mutual mentoring, networking and community building as Asian/Pacific American scholars. National Communication Association (NCA), Asian/Pacific American Caucus, National Harbor, MD.
Kimura, K. (November, 2023). Navigating the job market through a praxis of care. National Communication Association (NCA), Performance Studies Division, National Harbor, MD.
Kimura, K. (February, 2023). Praxis of caretaking: Disturbing/deconstructing the armature of coloniality and agency in U.S. academia. Western States Communication Association (WSCA), Performance Studies Interest Group, Phoenix, AZ.
Kimura, K. (February, 2023). Critical and performative interventions in qualitative research. Western States Communication Association (WSCA), Performance Studies Interest Group, Phoenix, AZ.
Kimura, K. (February, 2023). Decolonial pedagogy: Transnationalizing the curriculum. Western States Communication Association (WSCA), Communication & Instruction Interest Group, Phoenix, AZ.
Kimura, K. (February, 2023). Digital innovations in intercultural communication research and pedagogy. Western States Communication Association (WSCA), Intercultural Communication Interest Group, Phoenix, AZ.
Kimura, K. (November, 2022). Mentoring, networking and building community as Asian/Pacific American scholars. National Communication Association (NCA), Asian/Pacific American Caucus, New Orleans, LA.
Kimura, K. (November, 2022). Honoring PLACE and creating space for mentorship and community-building in the international and intercultural communication division. National Communication Association (NCA), International and Intercultural Communication Division, New Orleans, LA.
Kimura, K. (March, 2022). Empowering graduate pedagogies: Challenges, collaborations, and care. Spring Teaching Conference, Virtual Conference (originally scheduled in Albuquerque, NM).
Kimura, K., & Peavy, A. (March, 2022). Envisioning the future of higher education: Critically utilizing mixedness to create a more inclusive classroom dynamic. 2022 Critical Mixed Race Studies Conference, Virtual Conference.
Kimura, K. (February, 2022). Energizing antiracist present-futures through relational systems of caretaking. Western State Communication Association (WSCA), Communication, Identities, and Difference Interest Group, Portland, OR.
Kimura, K. (February, 2022). Envisioning the future of U.S. higher education: Critically utilizing mixedness to create a more inclusive classroom dynamic. Critical Mixed Race Studies Conference (CMRS), Virtual Conference (originally scheduled in Tempe, AZ).
Kimura, K. (November, 2021). Renewal and transformation in the era of necropolitics. National Communication Association (NCA), International and Intercultural Communication Division, Seattle, WA.
Kimura, K. (November, 2021). Mentoring, networking and building community as Asian/Pacific American scholars. National Communication Association (NCA), Asian/Pacific American Caucus, Seattle, WA.
Kimura, K. (November, 2021). Doctoral chairs and graduate directors forum: Supporting BIPOC students in doctoral programs. National Communication Association (NCA), NCA National Office, Seattle, WA.
Kimura, K. (November, 2020). At the crossroads of theory and praxis: Intersecting ideological armatures across academic and everyday contexts in international and intercultural communication. National Communication Association (NCA), International and Intercultural Communication Division, Virtual Conference (originally scheduled in Indianapolis, IN).
Kimura, K. (November, 2020). “Yellow perils,” revived: Intervening about COVID-19 over anti-Asian racism and micro/macro-aggressions.
Kimura, K. (February, 2020). Research beyond writing: Exploring visual and vocal methods of conducting and presenting research. Western State Communication Association (WSCA), Communication Theory and Research Interest Group, Denver, CO.
Kimura, K. (November, 2019). Flows within the intra/inter/trans Asia-U.S. space: Politics of identity for (non)survival. National Communication Association (NCA), Asian/Pacific American Communication Studies Division, Baltimore, MD.