This summer, I had the pleasure of collaborating with the University of Washington Honors Program to pilot a new study abroad course in Tokyo. Being a proud UW Honors alum (and former program staff member), I was honored when Associate Director Julie Villegas asked me to help send the first-ever group of 12 Honors students to Tokyo, Japan. We created a three-week interdisciplinary curriculum on the topic of “Constructing Japanese Identity: Comparing National Narratives in Japan and the US,” exploring the complex and shifting web of narratives surrounding
Japanese national identity in a comparative perspective. We drew on materials from both the social sciences and the humanities to discuss identity from a variety of perspectives, including history, politics, race, gender, age, religion, art, culture, and food. In addition to attending lectures by faculty from Waseda University, Toyo University, Sophia University, the Fulbright Foundation, and other Tokyo-based organizations, students also had the opportunity to visit key sites in Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Kyoto.
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Recent News
- New Publication: How to Mend the Rift Between Japan and South Korea
- Talk: What Does the Russo-Ukrainian War Mean for Indo-Pacific Security?
- Talk: Decoding Indo-Pacific Strategies of Canada, Japan, the USA, and Europe
- New Publication: US Supply Chain Strategy in the Indo-Pacific
- New Publication: Ukraine: A Turning Point for Japanese Foreign Policy?
- Talk: Enhancing Economic Security in Northeast Asia
- New Book Review: Japan’s New Regional Reality by Saori Katada
- Japan in 2022 Brookings Event
- Podcast: Prospects for US-Japan-Europe Security Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific
- New Publication: China’s Challenge to the Global Commons
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