Dr. Stephanie Assman

Stephanie Assmann received her PhD in Contemporary Japanese Studies from the University of Hamburg, Germany in 2003. From 1999 until 2001 she was granted a fellowship from the Japanese Ministry of Culture and Education to do field research for her doctoral dissertation at Doshisha University in Kyoto. Her dissertation, "Value Change and Social Stratification in Japan. Aspects of Women's Consumer Behaviour", analyses the diversification of consumer patterns of Japanese women and links this topic to the current debate about a possible increase of social stratification in Japan. Stephanie Assmann has worked for several Japanese companies in both Japan and Germany. Her research interests include issues of social stratification, gender studies and consumer behaviour in contemporary Japanese society. She is currently working as a lecturer at Tohoku University in Sendai and is also engaged in research at the Center for the Study of Social Stratification and Inequality at Tohoku University.