A student of modern Japanese literature and thought with interests in close reading, film, visual culture, economics, and critical theory, Hurley’s research considers literature and politics in midcentury America, theories and practices of translation, and aspects of classical Japanese literature. He is studying a series of previously unexamined dialogues involving prominent writers and intellectuals who "conspired" (or "breathed together") in a range of ideological contexts from the 1920s to the 1950s. Hurley comes from Syracuse University, where he was an assistant professor of Japanese Literature, Film & Culture.