UNews - Kyoto

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.

Research ties established through Japanese macaques

trevor.kenney — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 22:14:20 +0000

When Dr. Jean-Baptiste Leca was studying for his undergraduate degree in his hometown of Bordeaux, France, it's likely he never expected that one day he'd be doing post-doctoral work at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, and that the Japanese macaques would be the conduits for that link.

And yet here he is, with his wife Dr. Noëlle Gunst, studying these monkeys alongside Dr. Paul Vasey of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Department of Psychology.

"We met for the first time 10 years ago because we happened to be studying the same monkeys at the same place, Arashiyama, near Kyoto city, central Japan," says Leca, who recently co-edited a book with Vasey and Dr. Michael Huffman from Kyoto ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, specifically dedicated to these monkeys. "The Japanese macaques of Arashiyama are probably one of the best known and longest studied primate groups in the world and yet we continue to find new and interesting aspects to their behaviour."

Dr. Jean-Baptiste Leca has been working with the U of L's Dr. Paul Vasey for the past two years.

Leca and Gunst have worked with Vasey for the past two years, continuing his research focus on female homosexual behaviour of Japanese macaques at Arashiyama. Last year, they explored a new field site – Minoo, near Osaka city – where free-ranging Japanese macaques also occur. By chance, the trio came across a little studied demographic setting in primates and were fortunate enough to observe male homosexual behaviour. After analyzing these new data, Leca co-authored a manuscript with Gunst and Vasey for publication in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior.

"Japanese macaques live in societies that are typically multi-male, multi-female. Males, when they reach sexual maturity, leave their natal group, with some transferring directly into a new multi-male, multi-female group, while others wander around solitarily for a period of time, and even others join what we call an all-male group. Being elusive, these all-male groups are difficult to track and observe, which is why we know little about them," says Leca. "As far as we know, young males stick together, travel independently, have social interactions and form a sub-group by themselves. When the mating season comes (October through January) some of these males will walk around a multi-male, multi-female group, hopefully to mate with females. What we observed in this particular all-male group however was male homosexual behaviour. While it's not the first time that this behaviour has been reported in Japanese macaques, it is the first time it has been reported in an all-male group."

The significance of this discovery is that it may speak to the evolution of male homosexuality in humans.

"We observe sexual behaviour – not sexual orientation – in monkeys. So the link will never be direct," cautions Leca. "But our findings may provide insights into the possible origins of human homosexuality."

Here, a Japanese macaque juvenile male and a young adult male embrace each other. PHOTO by Dr. Noëlle Gunst

He describes a possible evolutionary scenario proposed by Dr. Bernard Chapais from the Université de Montréal, where ancestral humans may have transitioned from multi-male, multi-female groups to polygynous groups, or harems. After reducing the number of females associated with each male of these harem societies, early humans then may have transitioned to monogamous units, which are widespread today.

"What we suspect, is that among polygynous ancestral humans, not all the males had access to females to form their harem, so maybe some of these males ended up in all-male groups, like Japanese macaques," says Leca. "One possibility is that the earliest forms of male homosexual behaviour occurred in these all-male groups. That's why we can make a kind of parallel between monkeys and humans."

Leca and his wife have been studying monkeys for 15 years and have travelled to Japan to study the macaques each of the past 10 years, calling the area their second home. This fall, when mating season arrives, Leca says the group may not venture to Japan and instead invest their time writing papers before returning in 2014. The lure of what is possible with this new line of study is invigorating.

"This time we got very lucky and our observations are really preliminary on this male homosexual behavior," he says. "So we want to return and continue our study on these all-male groups because they are not typically researched. We'd like to know more about the social interactions between these males and by understanding some of their social bonds, see how these particular relationships may impact their sexual behaviour."

It is groundbreaking work uniting three researchers from two very distant countries in a foreign land – with science the link that brought them together.

This story first appeared in the April 2013 edition of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Global Drums wows during Japan tour

trevor.kenney — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:05:19 +0000

Despite confronting typhoon winds of up to 162 kph, the U of L Global Drums Steel Band, under the direction of Adam Mason, completed a successful tour of Japan in September.

Representing Canada at PANFESTA, Japan's National Steel Band Festival, in Yokohoma,
12 students, Adam Mason and guest artists Tracy Thorton and Alan Coyle performed to an enthusiastic dancing crowd.

"Our group enjoyed cultural visits to the ancient capitol of Kyoto and home stays with families in Towada in conjunction with the Lethbridge Twinning Society," says Mason. "We took part in a traditional tea ceremony and represented our sister city of Towada with a public concert and community workshop."

Their trip was cut short, however, on Sept. 5, when the group was forced to evacuate Japan due to Typhoon Krovanh, which put an abrupt end to PANFESTA.

"Fortunately it was right after Global Drums finished their performance," says Mason. "Global Drums students jumped in without being asked to help festival organizers dismantle tents, which were starting to come apart in the heavy winds."

Not even the weather could dampen the spirits of these dedicated percussionists.

UNews - Kyoto

Study tour gives students direct cultural experience

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Research ties established through Japanese macaques

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Global Drums wows during Japan tour

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