1)-------------------------------------------------------------
From: Patrick O'Brien
pobrien@HAWAII.EDU
Hi. My name is Patrick O'Brien and I am pursuing my PhD in American Studies
at the University of Hawaii. After living in Japan for a number of years, I
got my MA in Asian Studies at Cornell (when Dave Wittner was there). That
led to an interest in the Asian American community. Still, I'm very
interested in Japan.
2)-------------------------------------------------------------
From: Joan Rubert
jrubert@SHRIKE.DEPAUL.EDU
Hello to all and thank you for welcoming me.
My name is Joan Rubert; I am a graduate student of Literature, currently
taking a multicultural theory class. My specific, individual project for
this semester is an examination of Japanese rhetoric and culture, and ESL
methods as they apply to Japanese speakers.
Joan Rubert
Jrubert@shrike.depaul.edu
Depaul University
3)-------------------------------------------------------------
From: Val Hamilton
vrh1@STIR.AC.UK
I am part-time Information Officer for Japanese Studies at the University of
Stirling Library, Scotland and so have a broad interest in Japanese history.
I am also registered as a postgraduate student in the Japanese
department here. The subject of my thesis is the development of modern
mountaineering in Japan looking particularly at the roles of the British
missionary, Rev Walter Weston (the father of Japanese mountaineering!),
Shiga Shigetaka, as author of Nihon Fukei Ron (On Japanese landscape, 1894)
and Kojima Usui, writer and early climber. In general I have more than
enough material: I have a great deal of information on Weston and Shiga and
plenty on Kojima in Japanese - does anyone know of anything in English
written about him?
Val Hamilton
Information Officer (Japanese Studies)
University of Stirling
Scotland
vrh1@stir.ac.uk
4)-------------------------------------------------------------
From: Jim Raymo
jraymo@PSC.LSA.UMICH.EDU
My name is Jim Raymo. After receiving a master's degree in
Economics from Osaka City University last year, I returned to the
States and am now nearing the end of the first year of the Ph.D. program in
Sociology/Demography at the University of Michigan. I am working with
Professors Yu Xie and Al Hermalin at the Population Studies Center.
Although I have changed departments, my general research interest remains
the same, population aging in Japan. My specific interests under this very
broad heading include the history of fertility decline in Japan, changes in
marriage patterns, changes in family structure and functions, changes in
women's life course, and the social and economic implications of population
aging.
If there are any other demographers specializing in Japan or researchers in
different fields with an interest in any of the above, I would love to hear
about your work and interests.
Jim Raymo
Population Studies Center
University of Michigan
1225 S. University
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2590
5)-------------------------------------------------------------
From: David Pottenger
dpotteng@SUNSET.BACKBONE.OLEMISS.EDU
My name is David James Pottenger and I am a student at the University on
Mississippi School of Law, U.S.A. I have two B.A.s in History and Asian
Languages from Arizona State University and have spent several years in
Japan. My interests are in languages, criminal law, and ancient history.
(In fact, I'm sort of an armchair Celtologist.) I enjoy the Yayoi, Jomon,
and further prehistoric eras of Japan, and love to study Kanji. Why law,
then? I don't know...
Currently I am working on an application for the Monbusho Graduate
Scholarship in hopes of doing doctoral work in Japan. My topic is the
criminal provisions of Japanese tort law, especially in light of the new
Product Liability Law that came into effect last year. If anyone has any
comments or advice on Japanese law or the Monbusho application process, or
knows of someone with expertise in these areas, please contact me. My
E-mail address is dpotteng@sunset.backbone.olemiss.edu. (No anti-lawyer
comments, please. I get enough of those from my wife!
6)-------------------------------------------------------------
From: Jay Clarke
jclarke@JUNIX.JU.EDU
My area of interest is diplomatic relations in the 1930s, particularly those
between Italy and Russia. At present, I am working on a monograph centering
around the Italo-Ethiopian War of 1935 and 1936. I became interested in
Japanese diplomacy as I discovered the interest they took in Ethiopia and
the war and because of the fear that interest sparked in both Soviet Russia
and Italy. I am interested in talking with anyone who is also interested in
this time and in these issues.
More specifically, two years ago I spent a week in the Record Office in
Tokyo photocopying documents. My wife, who is from Tokyo, has been
translating them since. (I'm afraid I don't read Japanese myself). I've
come across two items that I hope folks can help me with. First, we found a
letter of May 1934 from J. Adol Marr to C. Hanew which promised all sorts of
economic concessions to Japanese businessmen. Does anyone know
who these two gentlemen are? Apparently, nothing resulted from the letter.
Second, the world's press at this time announced the possibility of marriage
between Liji Araya, nephew of Haile Sellassie, and a Japanese woman. Later,
the press with equal confidence announced that this had merely been a rumor
spread by the Russians and Italians. Does anyone know anything about this
prospective marriage.
One of the questions that particularly interests me in all of the above
concerns race. Many in Russia and Italy as well as in Japan were speaking
of an "alliance of the world's colored peoples" headed by Japan. The fear
in the West was that Japan would use a sense of racial solidarity to make
inroads into Ethiopia and then use Ethiopia as a platform for an economic,
political, and even military attack on Europe. I would welcome any comments
on these issues.
I'm afraid that my computer does not yet have the capability of reading kanji.
Thank you.
Jay Clarke
Chair
Division of Social Sciences
Jacksonville University
Jacksonville, FL 32211
(904) 745-7211
jclarke@junix.ju.edu
7)-------------------------------------------------------------
From: Ofer Feldman
hatani@NARUTO-U.AC.JP
Ofer Feldman, Ph. D. (1987, The University of Tokyo, Social Psychology). I
am currently Associate Professor at Naruto University of Education, Japan. I
held positions at the University of Tokyo, Keio University, Ibaraki
University, and the University of Tsukuba. My reserch interests include
political behavior, attitudes, and communication in Japan. My most
recent book Politics and the News Media in Japan was published by the
University of Michigan Press in 1993. This book describes and analyzes
political communication in Japan, with particular focus on the relationship
between the news media and Diet members. My current research project
focuses on the Japanese Diet members. It is an investigation on the
personality of Japanese politicians, their motivation to seek political
position and aspects related to their self-esteem, socialability and
dogmatism as well as their role and ideological orientations. Portions of
the findings of this project have been already published in such journals as
Politics and the Individual and Ribayasan [in Japanese].
Ofer FELDMAN, Ph.D. (Ofueru Hatani$B!K(B
$B%U%'%k%I%^%s!"%*%U%'%k!JH*?N>.E+N.!K(B
Social Science
Education$B!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LDLg650iBg3X!!<R2q7O650i9V:B!!(B
Naruto University of
Education$B!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#7#7#2!!FAEg8)!!LDLg;T!!9bEg!!!!(B
Takashima, Naruto-shi, Tokushima 772, JAPAN
Tel. ~81-886-87-3348 (office, in English)
~81-886-87-1311 ext: 385 (office, in Japanese)$B!!!!!!(B
~81-886-85-4464 (home)
Fax ~81-886-87-3348
E-mail hatani@naruto-u.ac.jp
8)-------------------------------------------------------------
From: Margaret Mehl
m.d.mehl@STIR.AC.UK
Hajimemashite. My name is Margaret Mehl and I'm a lecturer at the Scottish
Centre for Japanese Studies, University of Stirling, UK. My main interest is
the history of Japan, especially the Meiji period. At present I'm working on
an English version of my thesis about historiography and the state in Meiji
Japan (published in German) and on a book-length study of private academies
for Chinese learning (kangaku) in the Meiji-period. I'm also interested in
how people like Kusunoki Masashige became national heroes and were venerated
in shrines in Meiji Japan. There are parallels to the making of national
heroes in Europe; at the same time there would seem to be a connection with
ancestor-worship, so it's a mixture of using the past for nation-building and
religious practice (well, I have seen the term "Geschichtsreligion" in
connection with 19th c Germany...). At the moment this is a rather vague
idea, but I intend to pursue it further.
Yoroshiku.
Margaret Mehl, SCJS, Stirling (mdm1@stir.ac.uk)
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