Christina M. Spiker
Tagline:Assistant Professor in Art History/Asian Studies @ St. Olaf College | Independent Curator
Northfield, MN, USA
About Me
👋 Hi there! My name is Christina M. Spiker. I am an art historian working in Northfield, Minnesota.
📚 I study modern Japanese art and visual culture, exploring how images of the Indigenous Ainu at the turn of the twentieth century challenge the idea of a “homogenous” Japan. My work generally examines how globalization, modernity, and travel shape visual culture. Recently, I’ve been diving into a new project on the world of Meiji-era Japanese crepe-paper books (chirimen-bon), an initiative made even more rewarding through collaboration with undergraduate researchers. You can check out our ongoing work here.
🍎 In the classroom, I connect students with the artistic traditions of China, Japan, and Korea, and I’ve also led courses on photography, architecture, museum studies, and first-year writing.
☕️ When I’m not teaching or researching, I enjoy spending time with my family and pets, playing video games, savoring good coffee, and exploring my adopted state of Minnesota.
Work Experiences
Assistant Professor (NTT) of Art History/Asian Studies
from: 2019, until: presentOrganization:St. Olaf CollegeLocation:Northfield, MN
Visiting Assistant Professor of Art History
from: 2016, until: 2019Organization:St. Catherine UniversityLocation:St. Paul, MN
Visiting Assistant Professor of Art History/Asian Studies
from: 2015, until: 2016Organization:St. Olaf CollegeLocation:Northfield, MN
Education
Ph.D. in Visual Studies
from: 2010, until: 2015Field of study:Japanese Art History & Visual CultureSchool:University of California, IrvineLocation:Irvine, CA
DescriptionDissertation: Ainu Fever: Indigenous Representation in a Transnational Visual Economy, 1868–1933. Committee: Bert Winther-Tamaki, Roberta Wue, Fatimah Tobing Rony.
M.A. in Visual Studies
from: 2008, until: 2010Field of study:Japanese Art History & Visual CultureSchool:University of California, IrvineLocation:Irvine, CA
DescriptionQualifying Paper: Creating an Origin, Preserving a Past: Arnold Genthe’s 1908 Ainu Photography. Advised by Bert Winther-Tamaki.
B.A. in East Asian Studies
from: 2003, until: 2007Field of study:minor in JapaneseSchool:Ursinus CollegeLocation:Collegeville, PA
DescriptionThesis: Carnivals of Abjection in Contemporary Japanese Art: Aida Makoto and Murakami Takashi. Advised by Matthew Mizenko.
Publications
Food as Contact Zone: Navigating the Ainu/Wajin Encounter in Golden Kamuy (2014-)
Journal ArticlePublisher:Verge: Studies in Global AsiasDate:2023Authors:Christina M. SpikerThe Indigenous Shôjo: Transmedia Representations of Ainu Femininity in Japan’s Samurai Spirits, 1993–2019
Journal ArticlePublisher:Journal of Anime and Manga StudiesDate:2020Authors:Christina M. Spiker"Civilized" Men and "Superstitious" Women: Visualizing the Hokkaido Ainu in Isabella Bird’s Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, 1880
Book ChapterPublisher:Gender, Continuity, and the Shaping of Modernity in the Arts of East Asia, 16th–20th Centuries (Brill)Date:2017Authors:Christina M. Spiker
The Ainu and Their Foodways
Book ChapterPublisher:Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Food StudiesDate:unpublishedAuthors:Christina M. SpikerDescription:A forthcoming informational article under contract about the Ainu and their foodways.
The Dichotomy of Interior and Exterior: Exploring Architectural Space in Genshin Impact
EntryPublisher:In Media ResDate:2023Authors:Christina M. Spiker
Curatorial Projects & Consulting
Let's Talk: Collection Conversations
date: 2025Organization:Flaten Art Museum, St. Olaf College
Description:Curated by Ryan Brentner ‘27, Liz Bunnell ‘26, Jade Caballero Mejia ‘28, Adriana Fleming ‘26, Gracie Garrett ‘27, Zibby Hanifl ‘26, Cora Olson ‘27, Quintessa O’Toole ‘27, Max Peterson ‘26, Lauren Russell ‘28, Audrey Scarlett ‘27, Carly Smithmier ‘26, Lars Soforenko ‘26, Andre Thomas ‘26, and Aaron Winer ‘28. Served as instructor, facilitator, and collaborator with students in the course Making Museums Matter (Fall 2025 & Spring 2026) alongside Jane Becker Nelson (Flaten Art Museum) and Alyssa Melby (Svoboda Center for Civic Engagement).
Art Assignment: Teaching and Learning with FAM’s Collection
date: 2024Organization:Flaten Art Museum, St. Olaf College
Description:Curated by Jane Becker Nelson. Conducted research and wrote wall text for objects in the “Korean Material Culture" section.
Glimpses of Whimsey: Storytelling through Japanese Crepe-paper Books
date: 2024Organization:Rolvaag Memorial Library, St. Olaf College
Description:Curated by Anika James '25 and Laura Smith '25. Served as Curatorial Supervisor. (Collaborative Undergraduate Research & Inquiry)
Dressed by Nature: Textiles of Japan
date: 2022Organization:Minneapolis Institute of Art
Description:Curated by Andreas Marks. Consulted and edited wall labels for objects for the Ainu Textile section of the exhibition for interpretation team. Also provided a public lecture on Ainu art and texitles.
Altered Skyline: Brenda Berkman’s Thirty-six Views of One World Trade Center
date: 2021Organization:Flaten Art Museum, St. Olaf College
Description:Curated by Christina M. Spiker (Independent Curator). Also wrote an essay for the exhibition catalogue. Participated in a panel discussion, "Reflections at the 20th Anniversary of 9/11" with Brenda Berkman, Jan Ramirez, and John Sauer.
Nostalgic Femininity: Japanese Woodblock Prints from the St. Catherine University Special Collections & Archives
date: 2019Organization:The Catherine G. Murphy Gallery, St. Catherine University
Description:Curated by Christina M. Spiker (Independent Curator). Also delivered a public lecture in support of the exhibition, edited and produced the exhibition catalogue, and negotiated sponsorship with Blick Art Materials.
From Flowers to Warriors: Japanese Woodblock Prints from the St. Catherine University Special Collections & Archives
date: 2019Organization:St. Catherine University Library, St. Catherine University
Description:Curated by Christina M. Spiker (Independent Curator) with MaryJane Eischen ‘20 and Nicole Wallin ’19. Edited and produced the exhibition catalogue, and negotiated sponsorship with Blick Art Materials.
Talks
The Illusion of Authenticity: Indigenous Ainu Representation in a Transnational Visual Economy
Date: Sep 2024
Event name: Public Lecture at Macalester College .Location: St. Paul, MN .
Carving Identity: Early Ainu Woodcarving, Cultural Revitalization, and the Patchwork of History
Date: Apr 2024
Event name: Open Edo: Diverse, Ecological, and Global Perspectives on Japanese Art, 1603-1868, Center for 17th- & 18th-Century Studies, University of California, Los Angeles .Location: Los Angeles, CA .
A Cyberpunk Deathworld: Necropolitics in Cyberpunk Edgerunners (2022)
Date: Mar 2024
Event name: Popular Culture Association Conference .Location: Chicago, IL .
Cage of Light: Freedom and Entrapment in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022)
Date: Apr 2023
Event name: Popular Culture Association Conference .Location: San Antonio, TX .
Objects that Speak: A Multimedia Exploration of Ainu Art and Visual Representation
Date: Sep 2022
Event name: Public Lecture at Macalester College .Location: St. Paul, MN .
The Ainu of Northern Japan: Their Unique Textile Tradition
Date: Jul 2022
Event name: Public Lecture at Minneapolis Institute of Art .Location: Minneapolis, MN .
Consuming Difference: Understanding Food as Ideology in Japanese Anime
Date: Apr 2022
Event name: Popular Culture Association Conference .Location: Virtual .
Carved from a Single Block: The Materiality of Wood in Ainu and Japanese Cultures
Date: Mar 2022
Event name: “Decentering ‘Japanese Art History’: Rethinking Periodization, Geography, and Historiography” panel at the annual Association for Asian Studies Conference .Location: Honolulu, HI .
Food Anime and the Consumption of Difference: A Comparative Analysis of Golden Kamuy (2018-2021) and Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits (2018)
Date: Oct 2021
Event name: Midwest Popular Culture Association Conference .Location: Minneapolis, MN .
Food as Contact Zone: Navigating the Encounter Between Ethnic Japanese and Indigenous Ainu in Golden Kamuy
Date: Jun 2021
Event name: Popular Culture Association Conference .Location: Virtual .
Digital Humanities Projects
Hasegawa's Whimsical World: An Evolving Virtual Exhibition of Japanese Crepe-paper Fairy Tales in the St. Olaf College Special Collections
date: 2024Organization:St. Olaf College
Description:With undergraduate collaborators Anika James '25 and Laura Smith '25. Open Education Resource (OER) created with Wordpress, TimelineJS, GraphCommons, and ArcGIS.
Gender and Ainu Photography
date: 2021Organization:Behind the Camera: Gender, Power, and Politics in the History of Japanese Photography
Description:Edited by Carrie Cushman and Kelly McCormick. Bilingual English/Japanese online educational resource (OER) and digital humanities project.
Teaching
Making Museums Matter (ART282)
From: 2024, Until: present
Organization:St. Olaf CollegeField:Art History
Art, Materiality, and the Making of Global Asia (WRIT120)
From: 2023, Until: present
Organization:St. Olaf CollegeField:First-year Writing
Asian Conversations Program (ASCON120)
From: 2022, Until: 2024
Organization:St. Olaf CollegeField:Asian Studies
Japanese Woodblock Prints (ART276)
From: 2021, Until: present
Organization:St. Olaf CollegeField:Art History / Asian Studies
Arts of Korea (ART276)
From: 2020, Until: present
Organization:St. Olaf CollegeField:Art History / Asian Studies
Arts of China (ART259)
From: 2019, Until: 2023
Organization:St. Olaf CollegeField:Art History / Asian Studies
Arts of Japan (ART260)
From: 2016, Until: present
Organization:St. Olaf CollegeField:Art History / Asian Studies
History of Photography (ART256)
From: 2016, Until: present
Organization:St. Olaf CollegeField:Art History
History of World Architecture (ART161)
From: 2015, Until: 2024
Organization:St. Olaf CollegeField:Art History
Contact
Address
Center for Art and Dance
St. Olaf College
1520 St. Olaf Avenue
Northfield, MN 55057