Han
Dr. Benjamin Min Han
About: Dr. Han’s research focuses on global media, race and ethnicity, Korean popular culture, and the cultural intersections between East Asia and Latin America.
Education
Ph.D., Cinema Studies, New York University
M.A., Cinema-Television, University of Southern California
B.S., Radio-TV-Film, University of Texas at Austin
Research Interests and Activities
Dr. Han’s research focuses on global media, Korean popular culture, and race and ethnicity. His intellectual interests in these three areas stem from his personal experiences as a diasporic itinerant living in South Korea, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Indonesia and the United States. Specifically, his work examines the cultural intersections between Korea and Latin America through a transpacific examination of media and cultural flows despite the lack of shared cultural, linguistic, and geographical affinities. Additionally, his scholarship seeks to challenge the West-East and Black-White binaries that have informed studies of race and global media. His first book, Beyond the Black and White TV: Asian and Latin American Spectacle in Cold War America (Rutgers University Press, 2020), moves beyond the nation-centric model of studying U.S. television to examine its transnational connections with Korea, Cuba, and Hawai’i through the circulation of Asian and Latin American performers on popular variety TV shows during the Cold War. He is also the co-editor of Korean Pop Culture Beyond Asia: Race and Reception (University of Washington Press, 2024). His second book, Reckoning with the World: South Korean Television and the Latin American Imaginary, is forthcoming from Temple University Press. He recently completed his third book manuscript on Netflix Korea and global television. His articles have been published in the International Journal of Communication, Critical Studies in Media Communication, Television & New Media, Pacific Historical Review, Media, Culture & Society, and Post45.
Experience
Prior to joining Grady College, Dr. Han taught at Tulane University in New Orleans. He teaches Entertainment Media Industries and Global Media Industries, among other courses at Grady College.