Departmental Newsletter for Modern Languages & Literatures at the College of William & Mary
Hi, everyone. I’m Chris Bubb, a 2010 graduate of the College and former W&M Japanese student. Recently, I was excited to have passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test top level N1 exam. Below I share some of my experiences with the Japanese language at W&M and post-graduation, as well as suggestions for improving your Japanese… Read More
William and Mary ’10 alumna Loretta Scott was named “Next EDU Guru” by YouTube in October, 2012. Loretta Scott, an English/Japanese bilingual “edupreneur”, recently joined an international panel of 10 individuals known as the “Next EDU Gurus”. Loretta was chosen for her YouTube channel “KemushiChan: Bringing You Some Japan”, where she shares her tips and… Read More
The following story originally appeared in the summer 2012 issue of the William & Mary Alumni Magazine – Ed. Many come to the College of William & Mary to pursue degrees that they think will lead them to careers. Julian Oreska ’09 didn’t think his education would someday lead him to designing toys on… Read More
A community of 3,466 international relations scholars from 20 countries believes that East Asia is the world’s region of greatest strategic importance to their nations today. That was a key finding from the 2011 TRIP survey, published recently by the Institute for the Theory and Practice of International Relations (TRIP) at the College of William… 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
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… 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
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
Japanese Section News: Professor Rachel DiNitto and student Teaching Assistant Pam Kennedy team up to provide a rich collaborative experience for students while producing a valuable web resource for Japanese scholars. **Video
