Hosted by the Faculty Development Office at Sophia University



Teaching Diversity in the Contemporary Japanese University




Saturday, July 13, 1:30-4:00
Sophia University, Yotsuya Campus, Bldg. 10, Room 301




Open to all; no registration necessary; free of charge




Questions of diversity are at the forefront of many national educational agenda. In Japan, MEXT has paid some attention to issues of diversity, but even a cursory review of most Japanese university curricula indicate this is not a priority. While some suggest that claims to the relative homogeneity of the Japanese population explain this lack, such claims are more difficult to sustain each year. This workshop is a chance for us to reflect on the meanings, motivations, goals and practices of "teaching diversity." By sharing our own teaching experiences and strategies, we will explore what works, what does not, and what else could be done. Not limiting teaching to the university, let alone the classroom, the workshop also invites perspectives from students, activists and writers and educators working in a variety of fields. Among the issues discussed will be teaching diversity in terms of income privilege, race, accessibility and gender.




MCs
David H. Slater (Sophia University)

Patrick W. Galbraith (Senshu University)




Presenters
Mark Bookman (Ph.D. Candidate, the University of Pennsylvania)
Baye McNeil (Author and columnist for The Japan Times)
Deguchi Makiko (Professor, Sophia University)
Yume Morimoto (Editor in Chief of B.G.U.)
Alexandra Hambleton (Assistant Professor, Tsuda University)




Titles
1. "Cripping the Classroom: Teaching Disability and Diversity in Japan" (Mark Bookman)

2. "The Benefits of Reducing Presumptions" (Baye McNeil)

3. "Managing Threat and Resistance: Using 'White Privilege' as an Entry Point for Teaching about Privilege in Japan" (Deguchi Makiko)

4. "Othering within Grassroot Activism: Bringing Queer and Feminist Communities into school." (Yume Morimoto)

5. "Women Just Like Me? Approaches to the Discussion of Gender and Sexuality in the Classroom" (Alexandra Hambleton)




VENUE: Sophia University, Yotsuya Campus Building 10, room 301

Sophia University, 7-1 Kioicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8554

Access: Yotsuya station (JR, Marunouchi and Namboku subway lines)


Map link to

campus:　http://www.sophia.ac.jp/eng/info/access/directions/access_yotsuya