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Graduates 2019-2020 News: Japanese Studies Spring 2020 More

Japanese Studies Program Showcases Student Achievement with its first Senior Thesis Colloquium

 

The Zoom event featured presentations from five students.

William & Mary’s Japanese Studies program was proud to host its first Senior Thesis Colloquium on Thursday, April 30. The hour-long Zoom presentation, originally slated to occur on campus, featured the research of five seniors who are members of the inaugural cohort of the Japanese Studies major. Thirty-three participants joined the event. Presentations included:

  • “Wasted Effort: Representations of the Onsen through the Commercialization of Leisure in 1930s Japan,” by Margo Baden
  • “Murky Mirror: Miyamoto’s Dо̄tonborigawa and Being Left Behind by Economic Growth,” by Alison Bolton
  • “The Influence of American Military Presence on Students in Murakami’s Sixty-Nine” by Sarah Wilkowske, “Systems of Oppression through the Korean Body,” by Julia Wright; and
  • “Refusing to Sit Still: The Portrayal of the Japanese City’s Mobility and Moga in Tanizaki Jun’ichiro’s Quicksand,” by Kayla Zanders.

The students’ presentations were filled with information they discovered during their course, “The Japanese City.” The capstone seminar acquainted them with the historical development, theoretical conceptualization, and everyday life of the Japanese city from the nineteenth century to today. Students examined representations of the city in literature, film, architecture, and city planning. They completed their theses under the direction of Dr. Tomoyuki Sasaki, Japanese Studies Program Director and Associate Professor of Japanese Studies.

The Japanese Studies program extends its thanks to the students, faculty, and staff who assisted in bringing the colloquium to fruition as it offered a platform for the college to celebrate the students’ academic achievements. Special appreciation goes to Associate Professors Dr. Eric Han and Dr. Hiroshi Kitamura of the History department. Both offered insightful comments during the colloquium for the students who showcased the breadth of their research.