Dr. Patty Ahn

Biography

Patty Ahn earned a Ph.D. in Critical Studies from the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. She has developed research and teaching interests in Asian/Asian American studies, contemporary Korean and Korean American political economic cultural history, postcolonial feminist theory, and cultural theories with an emphasis on global media, particularly hallyu (the Korean Wave) and digital storytelling through transmedia activism. Her current project engages the interdisciplinary study of the political economy and visual politics behind South Korea's pop music export industry, known as K-Pop. This includes a focus on global marketing strategies employed by Korean idol groups, music videos, and promotional content released from Korean record labels and governmental agencies, influencing cultural imaginaries in Korea post-millennium, particularly in the United States. There is a noted growth in interest in K-Pop as an object of study among undergraduate and graduate students, leading her to design a multimodal online teaching companion alongside traditional scholarly manuscripts. Prior to her appointment at UC San Diego, Ahn served as an Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Digital Liberal Arts at Occidental College, where she taught experimental practice-based courses on media, social movements, and digital storytelling. She teaches courses in critical media production, Asian and Asian American media, and cultural theories of media globalization, always encouraging her students to explore experimental modes of scholarly production in their research.

Research Interests