Meet A Deac
In this Issue: today is a Meet A Deac faculty profile
Happy New Year, Deac families! Since we were closed yesterday for New Years, we’re bringing you a special Tuesday Meet A Deac with Robert Hellyer of the history department. 
Robert, welcome! Let’s start at the beginning – please tell me your job title and how long you have worked at Wake Forest. My title is Professor of History, and I have been at Wake Forest since 2005, so I’ve taught here for around 17 years.
Tell me a little about your educational background. I received my Bachelor of Arts from Claremont McKenna College. I completed a double major: History and Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE); the latter is a major modeled on PPE programs offered at British universities. Then I went to Stanford University, where I earned my Master of Arts and a Ph.D., both in History. My Ph.D. focus was on early modern and modern Japan.
How would you describe your job in layperson’s terms? I have the wonderful opportunity to be a teacher and a scholar. During the semester, most of my days are devoted to teaching, which can be time consuming (in a good way) especially when I teach a new class. I look forward to my summers and the opportunity to conduct research at libraries and archives; that research is later presented in articles and books.
How would you describe your research to someone who knows nothing about your field? I research topics in Japanese and world history to answer questions that interest me. Let me explain through a specific example: many years ago, I discovered that until the early 20th century, Americans, especially in the Midwest, preferred green tea. I wanted to understand why Americans liked green tea, and in turn, why black tea is more popular today. Last year, I published a book, Green with Milk and Sugar: When Japan Filled America’s Tea Cups, that offered answers to those questions (and also explained why Americans liked adding milk and sugar in their cups of green tea! 
What excites you most about your field or your research, and how does that translate into your classes or lab? I really enjoy finding ways to connect my research and teaching. This semester I am doing that through a seminar, “Tea in History and Art,” which explores how people around the world consume tea and how that consumption is represented in works of art and material culture. Students are researching objects related to tea held at Reynolda House, the Lam Museum of Anthropology, and at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts in Old Salem; my students will give public presentations about those objects at the end of the semester. 
What would you say to a student considering a major in your department? Please join us! By majoring in history, a student gains an incredible range of insights on the human experience. And our majors go on to succeed in whatever field they choose. I am always amazed to learn what WFU alumni who majored in history decide to do after graduation. For example, just before the pandemic, John Currie (’93), the WFU Director of Athletics, kindly gave a presentation to current history majors describing the ways in which during his career, he has utilized the knowledge and skills he gained majoring in history at WFU.
What is your favorite class to teach, and why? I am fortunate to be able to teach not only classes about Japan, my area of specialization, but also about East Asia (China, Japan and Korea) and world history. I really value being able to teach so broadly!
What do you like best about working at Wake? The opportunity to teach so many different classes and get to know students from around the country and the world.
And now we’ve come to my favorite part – the bonus questions!
Book(s) you are reading now: When I’m in the middle of the semester, I have less time for reading outside my field. But during the breaks, I look forward to reading a novel or two.
Websites or apps you frequent: In this area, I am pretty boring: I just read major websites focused on news and sports.
Favorite movies/TV shows/Netflix, etc.: My all time favorite TV show is The Rockford Files. My favorite film was released in Japan in the early 1960s, The Human Condition. I like it because it profiles a man trying to do the right thing despite a myriad of challenges transpiring during World War II. But watching it is a real commitment, as it is a trilogy that spans 9 hours! 
What do you enjoy doing when not at work? I enjoy jogging (especially in the trails around Reynolda House) and gardening. 
Something most people don’t know about you: I like watching Korean dramas. They are well made, the acting is great, and the stories engaging. Two of my favorites are Navillera and 2521, the latter I just finished watching. 
Robert, thanks so much for being our first Meet A Deac of 2023, and for all you do for our students and our campus community!
Reminder: you can read past Meet A Deacs here.