Loyola Marymount University is a top-ranked national university by U.S. News and World Report, which places LMU among the top six Jesuit universities in the country and in the top six private universities in California. Founded in 1911, LMU is a Catholic, Jesuit, and Marymount university with more than 7,100 undergraduate students and more than 3,000 graduate and law students. LMU offers 56 undergraduate majors and 56 minor programs, along with 46 master’s degree programs, three doctorate programs and 12 credential/authorization programs. LMU’s intercollegiate athletics teams compete in the West Coast Conference with 14 Division I varsity sports.

LMU news and events are found at: www.lmu.edu/news.

Loyola Marymount University

New Row

Contact expert @[Full Name](fullname), @[Job Title](job_title) at @[Organization](organization) for media, speaking, professional opportunities and more.

@[Full Name](fullname) at @[Organization](organization) | Contact Form

Expert Inquiry

Open Sans

Sugar and Spice (and Everything Nice?): Japan’s Ambition Behind Lolita’s Kawaii Aesthetics

The Temptation of Performing Cuteness: Shirley Temple’s Birthday Parties during the Great Depression

Homemade Pet Celebrities: The Everyday Experience of Micro-celebrity in Promoting the Self and Others

Women Under Authoritarianism: Precarious, Glamorous Women Politicians in Hong Kong Political News and Gossip

The Mother of a Famous Child: The Media Representation of Shirley Temple’s “Mother” in Hollywood, 1934–1940

Dr. Ngai takes a humanities-based, critical cultural approach to media studies, with research that examines affect, emotion, and the social life of media across both mass media and digital platforms. She is currently writing a book on the cultural politics of cuteness, framing cuteness as a technology of feeling that addresses widespread anxieties about broad economic and social crises, particularly through gender and race. Her broader work also investigates how digital media and AI are reshaping cultural practices and affective experiences.

Her scholarship has been recognized with multiple honors, including dissertation awards from the Popular Culture Association and AEJMC, essay prizes from BAFTSS and SCMS, and top paper awards from AEJMC. 

Outside of research and teaching, Dr. Ngai enjoys Hong Kong cinema, story-driven video games, novels, and the California coast.

Select Inquiry Type