Tufts University: 175 Years of Innovation

Susan J. Napier, Goldthwaite Professor of Rhetoric and Japanese at Tufts, is known for her research on Japanese literature, popular culture, and especially anime and manga. She is known for her skillful application of literary criticism to anime and manga and has been credited with the growth and development of Japanese studies in university education. She is the author of influential works such as Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke and Miyazakiworld. In 2025, Napier was conferred by the Japanese government with the Order of the Rising Sun for her instrumental work in “laying the foundation for anime studies in the English-speaking world.”