2015 was the first installation of a new UA faculty-led summer course, Arizona in Japan: Megacity Tokyo (JPN 345). This six-credit, five week course took place from June 28 to July 30, 2015 under the direction of faculty member Nathaniel Smith, a cultural anthropologist specializing in contemporary Japan and an assistant professor in the Department of East Asian Studies.
The inaugural group of eleven students was comprised of ten undergraduates representing a diverse array class years and majors and one MA student from East Asian Studies specializing in modern Japanese literature. We spent five weeks in the heart of Tokyo at Sophia University -- though many students arrived a few weeks early or left late in order to travel the country! We were welcomed to Sophia University by Professor Yuka Mizutani, an expert on the Yaqui tribe, indigenous issues, and American Studies and held joint sessions with her internationally-minded students, a group studying issues in the Sonoran community of Tucson, the US-Mexico borderlands, and the southwest more generally.
The Megacity Tokyo course schedule offered a diverse range of activities, topics, and outings -- a mix of things every tourist needs to do and things that even Tokyo natives would never have the chance to see. Check out the gallery of some of our activities here: Photos! Students pursued their own interests with assignments like a television analysis, a photo essay, and a final website project based on their individual field research.
The inaugural group of eleven students was comprised of ten undergraduates representing a diverse array class years and majors and one MA student from East Asian Studies specializing in modern Japanese literature. We spent five weeks in the heart of Tokyo at Sophia University -- though many students arrived a few weeks early or left late in order to travel the country! We were welcomed to Sophia University by Professor Yuka Mizutani, an expert on the Yaqui tribe, indigenous issues, and American Studies and held joint sessions with her internationally-minded students, a group studying issues in the Sonoran community of Tucson, the US-Mexico borderlands, and the southwest more generally.
The Megacity Tokyo course schedule offered a diverse range of activities, topics, and outings -- a mix of things every tourist needs to do and things that even Tokyo natives would never have the chance to see. Check out the gallery of some of our activities here: Photos! Students pursued their own interests with assignments like a television analysis, a photo essay, and a final website project based on their individual field research.
Arizona in Japan: Megacity Tokyo will be offered again by Professor Smith in the summer of 2017. Hope to see you for the next round! In the meantime, if you are looking for a UA faculty-led course to Japan, keep an eye out for a summer 2016 course in Kyoto hosted by Doshisha University and led by East Asian Studies faculty member and religious studies specialist, Takashi Miura. For students interested in China, East Asian Studies also offers a wonderful option with Arizona in Shanghai, a course developed and led by applied linguist and Shanghai native Wenhao Diao. |
Megacity Tokyo 2015 Student Spotlight
Araceli Montaño, Junior Major in Global Studies, focus in Human Rights, Migration and Social Movements/regional focus East Asia, Minors: Japanese and eSociety. "Arizona in Japan: Megacity Tokyo was the greatest experience of my life both as a personal enjoyment and academically! I loved becoming familiar with Tokyo from the inside-out through exploring various landscapes, architecture, and interacting with people native to Japan. Having that immersion in the culture enabled me to learn more about the people, places and language more than I ever could from home. I not only recommend studying abroad in Japan, but I absolutely advocate for it! Tokyo is a megacity of wonders and I cannot wait to go back in the future!" |
Mackenzie Dye, UA graduate, Class of 2015
"Before and during our course, I really appreciated the fact that I was able to travel to Kyoto to see some of the most picturesque and enduring religious sites in all of Japan. More than anywhere else I visited, I felt a real, almost indescribable connection to the land and people. Physically being at the shrines and temples I had read about was just as fulfilling an experience as Disney Sea and USJ and I'm determined to return and see more as soon as possible!"
"Before and during our course, I really appreciated the fact that I was able to travel to Kyoto to see some of the most picturesque and enduring religious sites in all of Japan. More than anywhere else I visited, I felt a real, almost indescribable connection to the land and people. Physically being at the shrines and temples I had read about was just as fulfilling an experience as Disney Sea and USJ and I'm determined to return and see more as soon as possible!"