Departmental Newsletter for Modern Languages & Literatures at the College of William & Mary
The Japanese Studies Program is happy to welcome Dr. Huang-wen Lai! Dr. Lai is a specialist in Japanese colonial literature and cinema–that is, works about the areas colonized by Japan before and during World War II (or, the Pacific War), including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, and Okinawa, written in Japanese by both Japanese and local authors. Dr…. Read More
The Japanese Section awarded several prizes to mark the end of the 2016-17 academic year. First, we are proud to announce the recipients of this year’s Kinyo Awards for Excellence in Japanese language study. The prize recognizes the hard work and achievement of the top student at each level of William and Mary’s Japanese language… Read More
This past fall, Dr. Tomoyuki Sasaki joined the Japanese program as an Associate Professor. We spoke to him recently about his research and teaching. Q: Professor Sasaki, Welcome to William & Mary. I hope you are enjoying the campus and getting to know the town of Williamsburg. You started at W&M this August. Do you… Read More
Last month, the Japanese Program welcomed to campus Dr. Jan Bardsley, of UNC-Chapel Hill, a leading scholar of Japanese women’s studies. Professor Bardsley joined students for two events to discuss two exciting new research projects. On Wednesday, October 19th, Nihongo House hosted a dinner for Bardsley. Over indian food, Bardsley discussed her research into images… Read More
I was born and reared in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, where I flourished and derived my desire for a sound education and enriching life experiences. I sought my bachelor’s degree from Showa Women’s University and finished my master’s degree at Akita International University (AIU), where I studied Japanese Language Education. Akita International University is in Akita prefecture and… Read More
MLL and the Japanese section are proud to announce this years inductees into the Japanese National Honor Society. Among this year’s graduating class, three students have met the Society’s demanding criteria: completion of five semesters of Japanese language study (or their equivalent), all taken for a grade (rather than audited or pass-fail); a grade-point average of at… Read More
The Japanese Studies Program is proud to announce the recipients of this year’s Kinyo Awards for Excellence in Japanese language study. The prize recognizes the hard work and achievement of the top student at each level of William and Mary’s Japanese language program. The awards are made possible through the generous support of Mr. Kazuo… Read More
The Japanese Program welcomes a new faculty member this coming fall. Dr. Tomoyuki Sasaki received his PhD in history from the University of California, San Diego. He also holds a Masters degree in Japanese studies from the Kobe City University of Foreign Studies. He has taught at Kalamazoo College and Eastern Michigan University. His research… Read More
American chefs and gourmands have recently rediscovered seasonality and locality —eating and celebrating the ingredients specific to the season and region. In Japan these notions never faded from the cultural imagination. On November 4, the college community was treated to a fascinating lecture on the significance of “shun,” or “seasonality” to Japanese cuisine, and the… Read More
Last summer several graduating seniors jetted off to Japan—in order to become “JETs.” The Japan Exchange and Teaching, or JET, Program was established by the Japanese government in 1987 to “promote grass-roots exchange between Japan and other nations.” The Department of Education selects college grads from around the world to teach English in Japan for a… Read More
Finance major and Japanese Studies minor Shumin Gong spent three months in Japan this past summer thanks to William & Mary’s internship program with Canon Corporation. Here’s her report on the experience. “During the three-month internship period, not only did I gain working experience in a different environment, I also had a great time living… Read More
The 2015 MLL Book Prize in Japanese has been awarded to Luis Madrid. The prize is given each year to a student who has shown overall excellence in Japanese studies. A graduating senior, Luis has demonstrated a remarkable facility for learning languages during his time at the College, studying French in addition to Japanese. After graduating, Luis… Read More
The Japanese Section is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Kinyo Awards for Excellence in Japanese language study. We are grateful to Mr. Kazuo Nakamura of Kinyo Virginia, Inc., through whose generous support the Kinyo Prize has been established and maintained. The prize recognizes the hard work and achievement of the top student… Read More
MLL and the Japanese section congratulate this years inductees into the Japanese National Honor Society! Among this year’s graduating class, four students have met the Society’s demanding criteria: completion of five semesters of Japanese language study (or their equivalent), all taken for a grade (rather than audited or pass-fail); a grade-point average of at least… Read More
Stop by the Sadler Terrace this Friday for Bubble Tea! The Japanese Culture Association will be selling the treat for just a dollar a cup.
This past October, William & Mary alum Mike Crandol (’07) returned to campus to share with us what he’s been up to since he left. After graduating with a major in East Asian Studies, Mike entered the graduate program at the University of Minnesota, where he’s now finishing up his doctoral degree. Mike’s research concerns… Read More
Dr. Tomoyuki Sasaki, History, Eastern Michigan University Japan’s postwar constitution renounces war as a sovereign right and stipulates that land, sea, and air forces will never be maintained, yet the country today possesses a large and powerful military. Join us as Dr. Tomoyuki Sasaki, of Eastern Michigan University, traces the development of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces… Read More
Are you a fan of anime? Curious about the people whose give voice to characters in English? Two celebrity voice actors, Yuri Lowenthal (W&M ’93) and Tara Platt, will be visiting campus this weekend to host master classes and an open-to-the-public Q&A panel discussion. Among many other projects, they have voiced the characters of Sasuke… Read More
Along with anime, manga, and video games, Japanese horror films of the past fifteen years have been one of the country’s most successful cultural exports. Pictures like The Ring, The Grudge, and Pulse frightened audiences worldwide and were turned into big-budget Hollywood remakes. But while the films that made up the “J-horror” boom quickly became… Read More
The Japanese section is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s Kinyo Prizes for Excellence in Japanese. The Kinyo Prize has been established through the generous support of Mr. Kazuo Nakamura of Kinyo Virginia, Inc., to recognize the hard work and achievement of the top student at each level of William and Mary’s Japanese program…. Read More
Congratulations to the eight new members of the Japanese National Honor Society! Among this year’s graduating class, eight students have been inducted into the society. The inductees have met several demanding criteria: completion of five semesters of Japanese language study (or their equivalent), all taken for a grade (rather than audited or pass-fail); a grade-point… Read More
The Japanese section is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s Kinyo Prizes for Excellence in Japanese. The Kinyo Prize has been established through the generous support of Mr. Kazuo Nakamura of Kinyo Virginia, Inc., to recognize the hard work and achievement of the top student at each level of William and Mary’s Japanese… Read More
Student presentations at a conference on April 12 showcased a wide range of interests in Japanese culture and society, as well as the possibilities for student research at William and Mary. Graduating seniors in the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES) Program presented the results of year-long research projects at the AMES Undergraduate Student Conference. … Read More
The Japanese section congratulates the recipients of the 2012 Kinyo Prize for Excellence in Japanese. The Kinyo Prize was established through the generous support of Mr. Kazuo Nakamura of Kinyo Virginia, Inc. This prize is given annually to recognize the hard work and achievements of the top student at each level of our Japanese program…. Read More
On March 11 last year, northeastern Japan was struck by a threefold catastrophe—a massive, 9.0 magnitude earthquake, a devastating tsunami, and level-seven nuclear meltdowns at three reactors. Sixteen thousand people perished in the disaster, and the country sustained economic losses equivalent to $235 billion, making it the most expensive natural disaster in world history. The… Read More
From her first semester at William and Mary, Sara Caudill threw herself into the study of Japan. “I had wanted to study language for many years before college,” she recalls. “I lobbied for on-line course in high school, but it didn’t happen. William and Mary gave me the opportunity.” Sara has since taken full advantage… Read More
On Saturday evening, we will screen the classic Japanese film Gojira (dir. Honda Ishirō, 1954), better known to Americans in the very different version released here as Godzilla. The screening will include introductory remarks placing the film within the context of Japan’s nuclear history. The screening will be followed on Sunday by a student conference… Read More
Join us Sunday, April 15, for a conference on the response to the catastrophic earthquake, tsunami, and on-going nuclear crisis that hit northeastern Japan on March 11th last year. Students will present research papers in two panel and in a bilingual poster session. Following this, Alex Bates, Assistant Professor of Japanese at Dickinson College, will… Read More
Garage/Psychedelic Rock band The Suzan, from Tokyo by way of New York, will be performing on Saturday night, February 18, as part of the Global Film Festival. Come meet and chat with the band before the show, at a special coffee hour. 1:30 to 4:00 in Washington 315. It’ll be a unique opportunity to talk… Read More
The theme of this year’s Global Film Festival is Film and the City, and the Pre-Festival series kicks off Wednesday night with a award-winning animated feature from Japan, directed by American Michael Arias: Tekkon Kinkreet (Tekkon Kinkurīto, 2006). Two young brothers, Black and White, roam through the streets and soar across the canopy of the… Read More
Michael Berman ’05 is in the master’s program of social sciences at the University of Chicago. (2007)
Amy Palesko ’06 was William & Mary’s first Fulbright to Japan. She studied at the University of Osaka and is currently residing and working in Japan as a design engineer at Nokia. (2008)
Nancy Marsden ’08 is a graduate student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa studying ethnomusicology. She’s combining her East Asian Studies and Music majors from W&M into the area of Japanese music. She hopes to focus on popular music in Japan. (2009)
Jenny Davy ’08 did a year of study abroad in Tokyo at Keio University. She went on to a two-year course of study at the Cooperstown Graduate Program doing a Master of Arts degree in History Museum Studies. (2008)
Julian Oreska ’09 works as a product developer for the toy company Bandai at their headquarters in Asakusa, Japan. Julian was a double Business and East Asian Studies major who also completed the Canon Corporation internship in summer 2009. (2010)
Megan Locke ’10 is on the JET program teaching English in Japan. (2010)
Loretta Scott ’10 is currently working in NYC in marketing/business development. She started a Youtube series called “The Difficulties of Japanese” in 2007, and was eventually contacted by YesJapan Corporation, which provides real-world and online courses for Japanese langauge learning. She’s now contracted as a video producer, and creates youtube-style education videos for their website www.yesjapan.com ! (2011)
Nathan Revere ’10 is doing graduate work at University of Wisconsin-Madison in their Anthropology Ph.D. program, focusing on language and culture in Japan. (2011)
Peter Luebke ’05 is currently a student in the graduate program on Southern History in the American History Ph.D. program at University of Virginia. He has an article, “Maruo Suehiro’s ‘Planet of the Jap’: Revanchist Fantasy or War Critique?” that he co-authored with Professor Rachel DiNitto, forthcoming in the Australian journal Japanese Studies. (2011)
Pam Kennedy ’10 is working in bank examination with the Federal Reserve Bank out in Los Angeles. Her examination team will work with many Japanese, Taiwanese, and Chinese banks. (2011)
Mike Crandol ’07 is currently in University of Minnesota’s Ph.D. program in Asian Literatures, Cultures, and Media, and attended Stanford University’s InterUniversity Center Japanese language program in Yokohama Japan 2009-2010. Mike is working on Nakagawa Nobuo, a horror-movie director from the 1950s and 60s who influenced the J-Horror boom. He has also written reviews of Asian… Read More
Lauren Klaasse ’11 is starting a graduate program in Public Policy at George Mason University. (2011)
Jeff DeMars ’11 started a job at the Japan Information and Cultural Center, Embassy of Japan in Washington D.C. He is working as the Webmaster/Office Manager for the JICC and is really enjoying working with everyone, planning events, and updating the website. (2011)
A campus event of special interest to Japan Studies folks: The Lyon G. Tyler Department of History is delighted to open this year’s Tyler Distinguished Lecture Series with Andrew J. Rotter, Charles A. Dana Professor of History at Colgate University, who will present a lecture entitled “Narratives of Bombing: Tokyo and Hiroshima, 1945.” This event… Read More
The 2011 Modern Languages Book Prize in Japanese has been awarded Claire Dranginis, a senior majoring in East Asian Studies and minoring in Management and Organizational Leadership. Claire has studied Japanese through the fourth-year advanced level, and has taken many classes in Japanese studies, including Japanese Cinema and Gross National Cool. Her interest in the… Read More
A steady stream of eminent visitors and special events greatly enriched Japanese studies at William and Mary this Spring. To recap: In late January, as part of W&M’s Global Film Festival, the leading authority on anime, Professor Susan Napier of Tufts University, visited campus to speak on trauma and fantasy in the work of Japan’s master… Read More
The Kinyo Prize for Excellence in Japanese was established through the generous support of Mr. Kazuo Nakamura of Kinyo Virginia, Inc. This prize is given annually to recognize the hard work and achievements of the top student at each level of our Japanese program. This year’s recipients are (from left): Jeffrey Ngare, Katherine Worcester, Jack Brorsen,… Read More
Professor Gavan McCormack will deliver the Art Matsu Lecture on Okinawa and the the civic democratic activism that has evolved there out of the 14-year-long resistance to US and Japanese attempts to build a new Marine base there. March 25, 3:00, Blow Memorial Hall, Room 201. Gavan McCormack is Emeritus Professor and Visiting Fellow, Division… Read More
Professor Tomiko Yoda, of Harvard University, will present a lecture, “Between ‘Pop’ and ‘Radical’: Women’s Lib, Media Culture, and Female Nude in Early-1970s Japan.” The lecture will address the resonances between radical feminism (“ûman ribu” or “ribu”) of the early 1970s and new images of femininity that appeared in Japanese popular medias at the time…. Read More
Steven Chung of Princeton U. will give a lecture on Korean film of the colonial period, entitled “Visuality, Nationality, Archive.” 5:00 pm, Washington 201. In connection with Professor Chung’s lecture, there will be a screening of the film “Homeless Angels” (aka “Angels on the Street,” 1941) directed by Choi In-gyu, on Sunday, Feb. 27. Steven Chung… Read More
Sunday, February 20, 2011, 11am at the Kimball Theatre Howl’s Moving Castle (Hauru No Ugoku Shiro/2004 / Japan / Hayao Miyazaki / 119 minutes / PG) Our Asian Family Filmmaking series culminates with the rare opportunity to see the singular, truly supernatural anime art of master filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. Howl’s Moving Castle, one of the largest… Read More
Saturday, February 19, 2011, 7pm at the Kimball Theatre Hausu/House (1977 / Japan / Nobuhiko Obayashi / 88m / NR) VIRGINIA PREMIERE! Presented by Festival Honored Guest, director Nobuhiko Obayashi Recently restored and only now being released in the U.S., this 70s-era gem of Japanese filmmaking is a landmark of the horror genre and a… Read More
W&M’s 11th annual 24 Speed Filmmaking Contest – Screening and Awards Ceremony Thursday, February 17, 5:00 pm, Kimball Theater Come see the SUPER/natural results of teams of students who had 24 hours to make a film following directives drawn from a hat. Special Judge: famed Japanese director Nobuhiko Obayashi We couldn’t copy each other’s products,… Read More
Michael Leruth has been recognized for his outstanding dedication to his students and the university with the prestigious Plumeri award. This prize shows the great appreciation and support for his work from both his colleagues and the student body. Michael Leruth holds a Ph.D. in French from Penn State University (1995) and teaches courses and conducts research on… Read More