JAPN 311: Social Issues in Japan (Spring 2013/MLO 2)
Course Description
As the drive to rebuild modern Japan after WWII has slowed, latent and new social problems have become visible. This course offers interdisciplinary perspectives on issues such as care of the elderly and homeless, equal treatment of minorities, gender and labor issues, domestic and world ecological concerns, and relevant institutions that promote or attack prejudice towards heterogeneous social groups.
Reflective Narrative
Compared with "Japanese Literature", "Social Issues in Japan" gave me a more modern interpretation of Japan, and more importantly, exposed the various issues they are facing. These issues included: appropriate use of land for farming, residential, industrial purposes; the rapidly aging population on top of a declining birth rate; depopulation of countryside areas, etc. In order to properly understand Japan it is important to recognize the issues which exist within the Land of the Rising Sun, and this class opened me up to those ideas. For instance, as Americans we do not typically have to think about how to divide up our land because we have so much space to work with. On the other hand, the Japanese population has to consider the repercussions of building a new shopping mall over a residential area.
As a final project for this class and for the purposes of the MLO, I had to consider the important issues in Japan and choose one to discuss via both presentation and paper. Ultimately, I discussed the potential damage the Center Shiken(センター試験)had caused toward English education. As a future JET participant, it is important for me to consider how a test which determines how you get into college also affects how you study. After taking this class, I realized the importance of understanding the news. I plan to take that knowledge while I am living in Japan to clearly comprehend the thoughts of my coworkers and students, but will also continue to expand upon that knowledge by reading and watching the news.
As the drive to rebuild modern Japan after WWII has slowed, latent and new social problems have become visible. This course offers interdisciplinary perspectives on issues such as care of the elderly and homeless, equal treatment of minorities, gender and labor issues, domestic and world ecological concerns, and relevant institutions that promote or attack prejudice towards heterogeneous social groups.
Reflective Narrative
Compared with "Japanese Literature", "Social Issues in Japan" gave me a more modern interpretation of Japan, and more importantly, exposed the various issues they are facing. These issues included: appropriate use of land for farming, residential, industrial purposes; the rapidly aging population on top of a declining birth rate; depopulation of countryside areas, etc. In order to properly understand Japan it is important to recognize the issues which exist within the Land of the Rising Sun, and this class opened me up to those ideas. For instance, as Americans we do not typically have to think about how to divide up our land because we have so much space to work with. On the other hand, the Japanese population has to consider the repercussions of building a new shopping mall over a residential area.
As a final project for this class and for the purposes of the MLO, I had to consider the important issues in Japan and choose one to discuss via both presentation and paper. Ultimately, I discussed the potential damage the Center Shiken(センター試験)had caused toward English education. As a future JET participant, it is important for me to consider how a test which determines how you get into college also affects how you study. After taking this class, I realized the importance of understanding the news. I plan to take that knowledge while I am living in Japan to clearly comprehend the thoughts of my coworkers and students, but will also continue to expand upon that knowledge by reading and watching the news.
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