Ways of Thinking and Practising in Chinese and Japanese Studies

Daniel R HammondChris Perkins

Who are we?

• Daniel Hammond– Lecturer in Chinese Politics and Society

• Chris Perkins– Lecturer in Japanese Studies

ORIGINS

Moving Between Disciplines

Teaching Practice

PGCAP

WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM?

The Mountain Gate

What are we turning our students into?

Teaching outside an established framework

WHAT DID WE DO?

Research Design

• 1. Conducted a literature review

• 2. Interviewed members of staff in the department of Asian Studies

• 3. Conducted student focus groups

WHAT DID WE FIND OUT?

Literature Review

• Not much reflection on teaching practice

• Debates on the colonial legacy of area studies

• Discussions of ‘new Chinese studies’ and developments in theory… in Australia.

DISAGREEMENT!Initial Findings 1

• For me, it’s quite strange here because if we study or live in Japan, you wouldn’t think about Japanese studies as a discipline. You’re a mathematician, you’re a scientist, you’re a historian. Even in Japanese history, your first identity is a historian, not a Japanologist. But here…in fact, I don’t feel such a trend is very strong but I hear some people say, talk about Japanese studies. I think it’s a bit strange, you know, talking about Japan as if it can…Japan can stand on its own as a…sort of unifying topic. So, for me, it’s a bit strange.

• Well, that is the old perennial question because we all have different trainings and come from a different background but all have studied Japanese language anyway. So, it doesn’t have a…it is not a disciplining that it does not have yet a coherent methodology. It is a discipline in that it, of course, relies very much on knowledge of linguistic knowledge. Everybody has to speak Japanese.

• No, it’s not a discipline. It’s an approach, it’s an area of study but I wouldn’t say it’s a discipline. I would say anthropology is a discipline, sociology, literary criticism is a discipline but not Chinese studies. You’re just doing it, the geographic or a culture of the area and then you will use a discipline to study some aspect of the culture or this geographical area, I would say.

• Well, it’s a regional discipline… I think Chinese studies does probably tend to borrow a lot from elsewhere in terms of theory and methodology and approach and that it borrows these sort of from other fields, sociology and so on. But use these on something that is delimited so yes, there’s a lot of cross over but it’s also, it’s something.

THE MOUNTAIN PASSInitial Findings 2

• Of course, nobody who does not speak the language is being taken seriously in the same way as nobody who has study-…done a certain methodology in another discipline is taken seriously. So that would be the first prerequisite with what…which defines a Japanologist.

• when the degree programme was quite new and one of the main motivations was not really so much Japanese language as contemporary culture…we had quite a few students who perhaps should have been doing economics or should have been doing computer science or something like that. So they thought it’s good to know about Japan and to do that, you learn the language, they knew that. But they found it a grind to do as much as you have to do to acquire Japanese which, of course, people who are curious about language do as well….

• Edinburgh is moving beyond merely the acquisition of language skills to look at other area’s and it’s my view that students who are studying Chinese are only going to attain a useful level of knowledge if they learn beyond merely finding their way to the train station or how to order a meal, that they have to have an understanding of the culture…

• To understand something in Chinese studies, I think language is a big part.

• Undergraduate study is really broad. It’s the language again which is sort of the major component of it. And then, I guess, just the general understanding of Chinese history and culture… Learning Chinese is hard. It takes a lot of time. Does it take away from the time that could be studying Chinese, the history and culture? Yes, of course. But I don’t know. I guess it’s finding a balance there and learning Chinese is a necessary learning outcome and it’s needed for the 4th years when we get them in our courses that the can read Chinese and deal with Chinese text.

WHAT ARE WE TEACHING OUR STUDENTS TO BE?

Initial Finding 3

• So, there is a linguistic ability…then there is…. An especially refined sensibility for essentialism.

• The Japanese studies is a part of humanities, isn’t it? So for me, very traditional…I think, to help them to become really independent thinkers. A person able to communicate with others, think independently but also able to have a sympathy with other people, other culture[s].

• So it’s partly about teaching them knowledge, teaching them the basic language skills and teaching them about the history and the culture. But I would hope that it would be preparing them as full rounded individuals who can then go on and find employment and make their way in the world.

• Be critical and to.. I think, to go beyond the surface on what China means. We teach them to dig into China in general, and to break stereotypes and that, I think, that’s probably the most important thing. That we teach them to break stereotypes that are still prevalent in today’s society. Things have changed tremendously but there are still a lot of stereotypes about what China is and what Chinese people are or should be.

What Next?• Complete analysis• Present and publish findings– JEAS 2013– To colleagues

• Broaden study– More institutions, practitioners– Other traditions and developments