Research

Dissertation

“Evidence-Branded Medicine”: Translation and Scientific Branding in Korean Ginseng Industry

My dissertation is an ethnographic and linguistic study of the translation practices involved in the production, circulation, and commodification of scientific evidence in South Korea. I trace insam (Korean Ginseng, Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) in farm fields, laboratories, manufacturing facilities, corporate offices, and markets, paying attention to scientific evidence of Korean ginseng’s medical efficacy as it is entextualized, circulated, and made communicable in the national and global markets.

The findings are based on research I conducted throughout 24 months of intensive ethnographic observations, semi-structured interviews, and on-site and digital archival research in South Korea. I combine multiple analytic methods and techniques, such as discourse and narrative analysis, text and visual analysis, and empirical lexicographic modeling, drawing on the scholarship of linguistic anthropology, semiotics, medical anthropology, and STS.

My dissertation research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation of Anthropological Research, and the NYU Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship.

Language and Medicine - Talking about Pain

  • MA Thesis Ethnographic Research (2014-15, 2016-17)

  • Project Title: Medical Discourse and the Language Use in Traditional Korean Medicine Hospitals and Clinics.

  • Institution: Seoul National University (Department of Anthropology, the Institute of Cross-Cultural Studies)

  • Supported by Naesan Anthropology Grant (Seoul National University)

  • Published in the Journal of Linguistic Anthropology (2022) and Language and Health in Action (in-press)

Narratives as Evidence

  • Community-Engaged Narrative Project (2022)

  • Project Title: “My Mom’s Scent”: The Scent, Voices, and Evidence in Narratives of Insam-Haengsang Women

  • Presented at NEKST 2023 (University of Michigan) and discussed by Dr. John Duncan (UCLA)

NYU Linguistic Anthropology LAB (led by Dr. Sonia Das)

  • Participated as a lab manager and a research assistant for Dr. Sonia Das (NYU)’s project.

  • Major tasks: Multimodal transcripts and analysis; Coding (MAXQDA); Data management and organization; Training undergraduate student assistants; video-editing (Adobe Premiere Pro)