Ka Wong joined the St. Olaf Asian Studies faculty after teaching at the University of Southern California and the University of Hawaii. He received his Ph.D in Chinese and an M.A. in Arts from the University of Hawaii and another M.A. in Thai Studies from Chulalongkom University, Thailand. His research interests explore the symbiotic ties and tensions between individual identity and cultural discourse across a wide range of topics. Integrating culture and technology into the Chinese language classroom is also one of his focuses. He has received various national grants and awards, including National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM), ASIANetwork, Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS), Digital Humanities on the Hill, and Magnus the Good Award, to name a few. His publications include three books as well as various journal articles and book chapters on language pedagogy, film, literature, art and visual culture.