Valerie Barske BIO Professor Barske joined the UW-Stevens Point faculty in 2007, lecturing in Women’s Studies and Peace Studies. Barske earned her Ph.D. at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she specialized in the cultural history of Okinawa, modern Japan, women and gender studies, critical theories of the body and embodiment. She is so proud of how the UWSP champions international cultural studies and welcomes a great variety of students interested in both history and interdisciplinary research. Barske is a certified Laughter Yoga leader! PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS American Anthropological Association (2002-Present) American Historical Association Conference on Asian History (2015-Present) Association for Asian Studies and Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs (2008-Present) TEACHING HONORS UW-Stevens Point University Service Award (2024) Institute for Research in the Humanities, UW System Fellow (2013-2014) UWSP University Excellence in Teaching Award (2012) PUBLICATIONS Barske, Valerie H. (2018). “Thinking through Movement: Embodied Learning as Feminist Pedagogy for the Social Sciences,” in Ekaterina Levintova and Alison Staudinger eds. Gender in the Political Science Classroom, Indiana University Press SoTL Series, 237-262. https://iupress.org/9780253033215/gender-in-the-political-science-classroom/ Be brave enough to step outside your cultural comfort zone–that is where the learning starts. -VALERIE BARSKE QUOTE “The world is your oyster!” – William Shakespeare Professor Coordinator, International Studies and Peace Studies Office: CCC 453 Phone: 715-346-2334 Email: valerie.barske@uwsp.edu Education Ph.D. - History University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign M.A. - History University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign B.A. - History Oglethorpe University Courses East Asia since 1600 Historical Thinking Images of the Samurai Interdisciplinary Approaches to Global Issues Topics in East Asia: Women in Japan World History since 1500