Gregory James Smits (born 1960) is an American historian, academic, writer and

Japanologist Japanese studies (Japanese: ) or Japan studies (sometimes Japanology in Europe), is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japanese ...

. He is a professor of Japanese history at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

.Pennsylvania State University
"Gregory James Smits"
retrieved 2013-3-22.

Early life

Smits was born in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

. He earned a BA from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in 1983. He was awarded a master's degree from the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

at Manoa. The

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

granted his Ph.D.

Select works

Smit's published writings encompass 8 works in 18 publications in 2 languages and 1,101 library holdings. WorldCat Identities

Smits, Gregory 1960-
/ref> * ''The sages' scale in Japan: Nakae Tōju (1608-1648) and situational weighing,'' 1991 * ''Visions of Ryukyu identity and ideology in early-modern thought and politics,'' 1999 * ''Jahana Noboru: Ikinawan activist and scholar,'' 2002 * ''The politics of culture in early twentieth century Okinawa,'' 2006 * ''Economic thought in early modern Japan,'' 2010

References

External links

Smits faculty website
American Japanologists Pennsylvania State University faculty Living people 1960 births 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers {{US-academic-bio-stub