UNews - Sapporo

Study tour gives students direct cultural experience

caroline.zentner — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 18:21:03 +0000

Participating in a course like the Study Tour of Japan gives students an education that goes beyond learning in a university classroom and the typical tourist experience. Students gain firsthand knowledge of life in Japan from those who live there.

“The purpose of the trip is to provide students with an initial exposure to Japanese culture and society,” says Dr. Catherine Kingfisher, a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge anthropology professor, who, along with Diane Minamide, co-ordinator of International Programs and Exchanges, took 14 students to Japan for almost four weeks of intense learning this past summer. “For me as an anthropologist, I couldn’t think of a better way to teach a course than on site.”

Before they left, the students received training in Japanese language and did preliminary research on Japanese culture and society. The U of L has a longstanding exchange agreement for both students and faculty with Hokkai-Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Sapporo. Every two years, the U of L sends a group of students for a summer cultural program. Students stay with Japanese host families during their time at Hokkai-Gakuen.

Dr. Catherine Kingfisher, front row left, and Diane Minamide, front row right, posed with students from the U of L and Hokkai-Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in the tea ceremony room at HGU.

Myles Shirakawa, a third-year U of L student studying French, went on the study tour because of his interest in the culture and language and his familial roots in Japan. His great grandparents left Japan for Canada in the early 1900s. As a southern Albertan used to wide, open spaces, Tokyo’s dense population came as a shock.

“For example, when you take the subways or trains, especially during rush hour, you have to get used to a different dynamic,” he says. “This dynamic also reflects in the culture and the language where you have to be more cognizant of the relation between yourself and others.”

Dana Grinde, a third-year U of L student majoring in anthropology and psychology, took the course as a way to gain international experience without the time commitment of a whole semester abroad.

“The highlight of my trip was getting to know a group of U of L students in a different context. Travelling with the group was the best part for sure,” says Grinde. “We worked together really well and it was just a lot of fun travelling with them.”

The group spent its first four nights in Tokyo. They visited a number of sites, including an urban collective housing community where Kingfisher is conducting research.

“I’m interested in looking at models of well-being that aren’t based on individualism and personal satisfaction,” says Kingfisher. “Diane (Minamide) was absolutely essential to this trip. Her Japanese is very good and she could translate and interpret when it was necessary. She was pivotal, and the students just loved her.”

After Tokyo, the students made their way to Sapporo where they lived with host families and attended classes at Hokkai-Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ for two-and-a-half weeks. Shirakawa says everyone was kind and went out of their way to make him feel welcome.

“I had read and studied about Japan but I had never been before so it was interesting to see how they live firsthand,” he says.

“I had all these pictures in my head about what Japan would be like. Then you go there and you realize it’s not at all what you picture,” says Grinde.

After leaving Sapporo, the group visited Kyoto before returning home to Canada. One of the students’ favourite activities was going to an onsen, or hot springs. Each gender has its own pools and people must bathe thoroughly before entering the pools.

“It’s a different kind of experience. You have to go in nude and, sure, it can feel a little awkward at times but at the same time it’s rather quite soothing,” says Shirakawa.

“There’s a Japanese word for naked relationship. That was new for all of us,” says Grinde. “The idea is that when you’re in the onsen with other people, you’re all equals.”

“The whole experience was amazing,” says Shirakawa. “If any other students are considering taking part in the Japan study tour, do try and fit it in. It is a bit of an expense but it’s wonderful to go and experience the culture.”

The students received help with funding from the Campus Alberta Grant for International Learning (CAGFIL).

“They were the most dedicated, fabulous bunch of students I’ve ever worked with. They participated in everything; nobody ever missed a class or event,” says Kingfisher. “They worked really hard and had to give speeches in Japanese at different events. Every single one of these students came up to me at some point and said ‘my host family is the best host family.’”

A number of the students have maintained their interest in Japan and plan to return to teach English or for further study.

U of L professors soak up Japanese culture at Hokkai Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ

caroline.zentner — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 21:08:03 +0000

Drs. Jason Laurendeau, a sociology professor, and Carly Adams, a kinesiology professor, along with their five-year-old son Quinn, have been absorbing Japanese culture for the past four months as part of an exchange program with Hokkai Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Sapporo.

Dr. Carly Adams and Dr. Jason Laurendeau and their son visited the site of the 1972 Sapporo Olympic ski jump.

Laurendeau is a visiting professor at Hokkai Gakuen where he is spending the fall semester teaching courses in Canadian Nature and Society to students from a variety of faculties.

“This is a great opportunity for me to teach in another university culture but also for us as researchers to spend a semester abroad,” says Laurendeau.

The family lives on campus and Quinn attends a Japanese kindergarten. Hokkai Gakuen has provided them with opportunities to attend university functions and participate in cultural excursions.

“This past weekend we were guests at the Hokkai Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Alumni Reception,” says Adams. “It is the 60^th anniversary of the university and this was an important event to celebrate this milestone.”

Hokkai-Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ President Kazunori Kimura and U of L professor Jason Laurendeau pose for a photo.

They’ve also had the chance to explore the city and surrounding area, including the Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium and Museum where the 1972 Sapporo Olympic ski jumping competition was held. The visit was particularly interesting for Laurendeau and Adams as they both do research and write about sport, gender and embodiment and they have jointly published on the topic of Olympic ski jumping.

Quinn adopted the traditional Japanese photo pose during one of the family's outings.

The U of L and Hokkai Gakuen have had an exchange program for 33 years. Designed to promote cross-cultural understanding, the first faculty exchange took place in 1981 and the first student exchanged followed five years later.

Sociology researcher Harrison receives Fulbright Scholarship

trevor.kenney — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 21:53:30 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Sociology researcher Trevor Harrison will become the 2010 Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Canadian Studies at Kennesaw State ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ (KSU), just outside Atlanta, Georgia as the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship.

Harrison will be taking a sabbatical from the U of L until December 31, 2010 to travel south to lecture and conduct research at KSU, Georgia's 3rd largest university with a student population of more than 22,500 undergraduate and graduate students.

As a visiting Fulbright Scholar, Harrison is already on the school calendar and, in addition to guest lecturing in several courses, will deliver an opening lecture in mid-September, as well as host a number of informal sessions for faculty and students sponsored by the sociology and political science departments.

Among other topics, Harrison plans to bring a Canadian perspective to the relationship between Canada and the United States Since 9/11, issues surrounding nationalism and something that is sure to be interesting to Atlanta Falcons or KSU Owls fans -- the social history of the Canadian Football League.

Professor Harrison is a full professor in the Department of Sociology at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. He completed his PhD in Sociology in 1988 at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta after completing his MA (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary, 1985) and BA (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Winnipeg, 1979) degrees in sociology.

He has served as Visiting Professor in the Canadian Studies Program at Hokkai-Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ (Sapporo, Japan, fall 2006) and at the Univesity of Alberta (1997-2002). Additionally, he was appointed as Interim Director (now Associate Director), of the Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy (2007). He has served as a consultant for various organizations, both at the international level.

Harrison is the U of L's fourth Fulbright Scholar. Drs Derek Peddle (Geography) Geoffrey Hale (political Science) and Chris Kukucha (political Science) have received past Fulbright awards.

UNews - Sapporo

Study tour gives students direct cultural experience

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U of L professors soak up Japanese culture at Hokkai Gakuen ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ

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Sociology researcher Harrison receives Fulbright Scholarship

Related Topics

U of L professors soak up Japanese culture at Hokkai Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ