Faculty
John E. Van Sant, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
jvansant@uab.edu
John E. Van Sant (PhD., Univ. of Oregon), joined the faculty in fall of 2000. In addition to his teaching experience in East Asian and World history, his research is on Japan since 1600 and Japan-United States history. His first book, Pacific Pioneers: Japanese Journeys to America and Hawaii, 1850-1880 (Univ. of Illinois Press, 2000), is a transnational examination of the first Japanese who came to the United States and the Kingdom of Hawaii. Dr. Van Sant has recently edited and introduced a new edition of Mori Arinori's Life and Resources in America (2004), and co-authored the Historical Dictionary of United States-Japan Relations (2007). He is currently working on a book-length monograph titled Eastern Ethics, Western Science, a conceptual history of how and why Japan adopted and adapted elements of Western knowledge and combined this knowledge to its traditional civilization. Dr. Van Sant has presented papers at numerous national and international conferences, and has been awarded research grants and fellowships from the Huntington Library, the Association for Asian Studies, and the Fulbright Commission.
For questions concerning his research, please contact Dr. Van Sant.
