Migrant.
Educator.
Researcher.
About
Rumika Suzuki Hillyer is a sociologist specializing in qualitative research. Her research interests include food, migration, class, and identity. Her doctoral dissertation examined Nikkei (Japanese) Brazilian people’s experiences with food, work, and identity in Japan, drawing from over 100 interviews conducted in Japan.
Rumika moved to the U.S. from Japan at age 18, and began studying at Portland Community College in Oregon. She matriculated to the University of Portland, where she graduated with a BA in Sociology. She then volunteered full-time as a resident counselor for a school serving Native American students on the Northern Cheyenne Resvervation in Ashland, Montana. Rumika received her PhD at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa in Sociology. She currently teaches sociology courses at the University of Portland.
Publications
Forthcoming book chapter, 2025.
Hillyer, Rumika Suzuki. 2023. "Setting Down the Skewer: Japan’s Brazilian Food Businesses During the COVID-19 Pandemic." Social Science Japan Journal 1-13.
Hillyer, Rumika Suzuki. 2021. "Staying Connected: Effects of Online Platforms on Transnational Family Relations and Social Capital." Contemporary Japan 33(1):3-23.
Selected Presentations
“Adapting to Eat, Eating to Adapt: Food, Class, and Identity of Nikkei Brazilians in Japan” from Illuminating Japanese Studies: Lecture Series with Former Japan Foundation Fellows
Education
2016-2023
University of Hawai'i at Manoa – Honolulu, Hawaii
Doctor of Philosophy Degree, Sociology
Dissertation title: "Adapting to Eat, Eating to Adapt: Food, Class, and Identity of Nikkei Brazilians in Japan"
2013-2015
University of Portland - Portland, Oregon
Bachelor of Arts, Sociology
Thesis title: “What Does Family Mean to You?: Exploring Perceptions of Family among American-raised Korean Adoptees.“
2012-2013
El Camino College - Torrance, California
Associate of Arts
2010-2012
Portland Community College - Portland, Oregon
Associate of Arts