Okay, we’re back again... If you read the previous newsletter and are convinced that you want to declare a Japanese major, then that’s GREAT! But maybe some of you are still sitting on the fence. Are you worried about finishing on time? Then come by to see Profs Hamano, Hanami or Tsujioka—this is alphabetical order, if you’re wondering—to check out the classes you need. Are you afraid that Bungo (classical Japanese) might be too hard? Pfffzt! Piece of cake... Here’s a hint: Japanese verbs are pretty regular, right?—How many irregulars in Japanese? Three? THREE?!? How many in English? Hmmm, maybe 3847? (This is an Onigiriman guess-timate) Well, Bungo verbs are even more regular than modern Japanese—although we won’t mention that there are more than ichidan and godan verbs... Anyway, if you are still procrastinating—like Etchan,—then here are a couple more comments from recent graduates for context. And if you have any questions, come and see us. We’ll be waiting...
In college, your major is more than what you study or what you're going to do when you graduate—it's really about how you feel and what makes you happy. Majoring in Japanese was much more than studying the lan-guage, it is about the appreciation of the culture and way of life that often you only truly grasp after having first hand experiences abroad. My profes-sional and personal lives are impacted daily by elements of the Japanese life-style that I have incorporated into my every day life. This, of course, I have as a result of dedicated professors passionate about sharing their experi-ences and knowledge paving the way for students to succeed.
Jordyn Cosme—2006
The Japanese major to me means ex-actly this! What I am doing right now. Sitting in a Japanese government office doing the most random transla-tion/interpretation/ event organiza-tion work that they can throw at me. Never in my life did I imagine I would end up where I am today. It’s chal-lenging and makes me feel like a Swiss army knife or cultural/linguistic su-perhero.
I knew when I entered GWU that I wanted to study abroad and maybe live abroad for a while after college. I had a lot of experience with The West and wanted to learn about cultures beyond that. The Japanese major took me, one with a very South American / New Yorker upbringing, and put me across the planet in a culture that I had no previous experience with. I was well prepared in terms of lan-guage and basic cultural understand-ing through the various Japanese ma-jor electives we have to take. I knew about concepts like Honne/Tatemae and so forth and a great deal more about J-lit than most Japanese know themselves. With those tools in hands I will able to carve out a life for myself here in Japan and really learn to un-derstand, critically evaluate, and ap-preciate a culture and a people really different from my own.
Studying/living in Japan I have had opportunities to travel to Australia, Korea, China, and Cambodia. I have a much stronger understanding about The East and I think I am more of a well rounded person for it. Even if I do not end up having a career that uses my Japanese skills, I will have gained far more insight about the world and the people in it.
I would tell prospective Japanese majors that a major in Japanese gives them the opportunity to study abroad. Not the silly kind of study abroad where you sit around in some Euro-pean city shopping and drinking and pretending you are doing anything that you wouldn't be doing back in DC. It’s the kind of study abroad where you feel angry and confused and then completely at home in a cul-ture that is so beyond what we experi-ence in the US. The Japanese major is the best way to equip yourself for study abroad and for learning about the world beyond the West. If you challenge yourself with this you will become a more understanding person and better for it. Japanese Majors in many ways are like anthropologists because we spend so much time on Culture and not just linguistics. I think it’s a great major to double ma-jor in because of the value it adds to you as a human being. However, study abroad is a total must for any real Japanese major or you are simply wasting your time. Majoring in Japanese will give you an opportunity to follow a linguistics related career, but it will also give you many opportuni-ties as a scholar and what simply is at the core of going to a liberal arts col-lege—learning about things beyond yourself and becoming a more edu-cated and well rounded person.
In a more pragmatic thought... I find—working in government now and looking at the current state of world affairs—that The West is constantly paying more and more attention to The East, but they do it without an eye of understanding. Foreigners in Gifu constantly ask me questions that start with the word "why" and I am pleased to find that I usually have an answer for them. People who have back-grounds in Asian Studies will be more likely to find jobs in international business and communications related fields. My coworkers are constantly amazed by what I know and the in-sight that I can give them into "why do X people do things the way they do it." The leverage has given me opportuni-ties to push forward my own projects and ideas because I am a better com-municator on the whole.
Lina Harper, 2006
