Category: Fieldwork

Recently our seminar was interviewed by Nikkei Shinbun. We talked about the fieldwork we currently conduct in Kanda Jinbocho and we were more than delighted to introduce the journalists to the connections we made overthe last months in the local community and how this will help to improve the character of this neighbourhood.

The article can be found here: /https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUB256M20V21C22A1000000/

English Version:

Senshu University, School of International Communication, Learning Culture through Experiences in Exchange
2022/12/07 Nihon Keizai Shimbun Morning Edition Page 31

　Senshu University’s School of International Communication is a new faculty created in the 2020 academic year. It provides opportunities for fieldwork, study abroad, and practical educational experiences. It aims to develop human resources who are well versed in Japanese culture and cross-cultural understanding and who can respond to globalization.
　In late November, five students from the Faculty of Intercultural Communication visited Yamatoya Shokumoten, a long-established geta store in Kanda Jimbocho, Tokyo. The purpose of their visit was to report their findings through SNS (social networking site).
　The store rents a part of the store to other kimono businesses. On the day of the visit, haori (Japanese traditional haori coat) and hand towels using a technique called chusen (tie-dyeing) were on display. Ryuhei Funabiki, the fifth-generation owner of the store, explained that he wanted to convey the charm of kimono, and the students exchanged opinions, saying, “It looks good even when worn over Western clothes.
　Associate Professor Imai Heide, who is teaching the seminar students, is from Germany and has practical experience in architecture and urban design. “Without the backing of a culture that is easy to empathize with, a community cannot be created. I hope to make students aware of this through a familiar city,” she says about the aim of this fieldwork.
　

The Faculty of International Communication has approximately 700 students in the Department of Intercultural Communication and the Department of Japanese Language. In the first year, all students learn the basics of Japanese culture and cross-cultural understanding. After that, each department cultivates expertise through study abroad, seminars, and practical experience.
　Communication across borders requires not only the ability to understand and use language, but also an understanding of cultural diversity and universality. In order to enable students to study a wide variety of topics, the department has assembled a faculty specializing in languages and interdisciplinary themes. Dean Tetsuro Negishi explains the department’s aim: “We provide students with a three-dimensional approach to the world and society.
　The Department of Intercultural Communication places emphasis on fieldwork and other practical activities. For the first time at Senshu University, students are required to study abroad. Department Chair Kenro Suzuki says, “We hope that students will gain a broad understanding of communication through local experiences.
　The Japanese Language Department, on the other hand, teaches Japanese as a global lingua franca. The students will deepen their knowledge in a practical manner by utilizing literature and materials. The leftward-facing face on the wall visually indicates the rule of reading characters from the left,” he said. Tomoe Konno, a second-year student in Professor Tatsuya Saito’s seminar on Japanese phonology and notation, shows and explains a manuscript of the “Shinkokin Wakashu.
　In Professor Saito’s seminar, students choose a subject of their choice, compile their findings into panels, and display them in the university library. Professor Saito says, “We devise ways for students to learn practical skills such as presentation, planning, and negotiation through the transmission of Japanese language. Journalists and actors are invited as lecturers to deepen students’ practical understanding of the Japanese language.
　For students who wish to become Japanese language teachers, a program to teach Japanese at schools in Japan and abroad is also available. More and more foreigners are becoming interested in Japan through animation and food culture. We will nurture human resources who can transmit the Japanese language, backed up by academic studies, to foreign countries.
　For the department, which focuses on real-life exchanges, the outbreak of the new coronavirus was a blow to the department. Some students had to postpone their planned study abroad programs. On the other hand, there were some positive outcomes, such as the start of online Japanese language joint research with a Croatian university with which the department had been in contact.
　The 2023 academic year will see the first graduates of the program. Dean Negishi is enthusiastic, saying, “We hope to send out people who can make use of what they have learned through their five senses in society.”