Invasion of Privacy: Emi Kanemoto
As famous Socrates once said, “The only thing I know is that I know nothing.” Emi Kanemoto stated that she encourages the students of SUNY Geneseo to adopt a similar mindset—to keep learning, reflecting and exploring yourself and your community. Kanemoto is a professor in the Department of Communication and is a Director of the LIVES program on campus.
Growing up in Tokyo, Japan, Kanemoto became interested in ballet. She mentioned, “Based on my memory, when I was five years old, my mother and I were passing the ballet school. I heard classical music and saw kids dancing. Then, I started dancing to the music. After that, my mother was kind enough to let me take the ballet classes.” Kanemoto remembered having ballet lessons after school and during the weekends all throughout elementary school up until high school. She loved the physical training and artistic aspects of ballet. In addition to ballet, Kanemoto did contemporary, modern dance, jazz, and high kick.
She attended school in Japan until she graduated high school. “I took a Communication & Social Movement course. It opened my eyes [to] how communication is the key for social change as well as social stability for an ethical purpose. First, I wanted to learn more about society from the framework of communication studies. Then, I started to research intercultural communication, social (in)justice and ally-hood. Eventually, I realized that good knowledge and information can be shared with more people. I found the teaching space as the platform [that] allows me to do so, and I LOVE engaging with students.”
In addition to her communications studies, Kanemoto spent a lot of her time with her college dance team, where her team performed during the halftime football games and basketball games. She mentioned that they had to travel with the teams and that it required a lot of commitment and effort.
“One of my favorite memories in my dance career was when my university dance team was invited to perform in Chile. We performed in front of hundreds of high school students in dance teams over there. The stadium was full with these high school dancers. The excitement of performing there is something I’ll never forget.”
Through her experiences on the dance team, Kanemoto created lifelong friends who she still keeps in touch with to this very day. After her time at the University of Texas, Kanemoto went to the University of Ohio to pursue her Ph.D. “I was fortunate to have great friends and professors who helped me,” Dr. Kanemoto said.
“Living in the on-campus dorm was a fun adjustment! I enjoyed waking up 20 minutes before class started. I used the train to go to high school in Japan, so the transition was somewhat nice. (I believe it is rare for university students to live on-campus in Japan).”
Kanemoto loves the food here in the states. “I remember that I was surprised how big each dish was when I ate at restaurants.”
Kanemoto has been teaching here at SUNY Geneseo for three years so far. She enjoys the students and loves interacting with them. “Through the interaction, students inspire and intrigue me.”
When she isn’t teaching, you can find Kanemoto going to local coffee shops. Her go to drink is a white mocha coffee.
Some fun facts about Kanemoto are that she was an intern for the Japanese government—she worked with and met a former Prime Minister of Japan a few years before he became Prime Minister. Kanemoto has been skydiving twice in her life and mentioned that “a third time may come.” A hidden talent of hers is that she can grow avocado trees— “I found how to grow them from seeds on Instagram and I currently have 8 in total.” The books she is currently reading are about ally-hood for her research projects.
If an opportunity comes about that you can take a class taught by Kanemoto, it is highly advised. She is an amazing professor and all-around alluring !