Undergraduate Course Pages > Academic Presentations II

January 9: The Decreasing Birthrate in Japan presentation completed the work for the course. The password-protected evaluation is here.

December 19: Ethnic Chinese in Indonesia presentation by Kojin Nagao, Yoko Shinomiya, and Aiko Sugita. The password-protected evaluation is here.

December 12: Oriental Land Company and Tokyo Disneyland presentation by Masha Haga and Namiko Tabuchi. The password-protected evaluation is here.

December 5: OSI presentation by Michiko Haneda, Ryota Matsumura, and Akiko Okamoto. The password-protected evaluation is here.

November 28: ODA presentation by Yukitaka Nireki, Mia Serita, and Hideaki Seya. The password-protected evaluation is up, here.

November 21: Shiho Takasô’s Photography presentation. The password-protected evaluation is up, here.

November 14: Saori Kitamoto’s West Side Story presentation. The password-protected evaluation is up, here.

November 11: The password-protected evaluation for the OSI presentation is up, here.

November 7: The OSI presentation by Michiko Haneda, Ryota Matsumura, and Akiko Okamoto brought to an end the first round of formal presentations.

The OSI presentation was followed by a workshop in which we addressed ways the second round of presentations could be more successful than the first. All suggestions were good, but I should like to call attention here particularly to one: improvement in the category of spoken citation, which in the first presentations ranged from excellent (in two cases), to poor (in most cases), to completely irresponsible (in more than one).

I might also suggest that since we’ve had six months of preparation time it would be a good idea for all members of all groups to present a full accounting of major sources for their portions of the final presentation.

The final work for the course, the second round of formal presentations, will begin November 14 with Saori Kitamoto’s West Side Story presentation.

Students are reminded before that class to print a copy of the new presentation evaluation worksheet, available here.

November 4: Password-protected evaluations are up for the ODA and Decreasing Birthrate presentations.

Students are reminded for the November 7 class to bring copies of each of the presentation evaluations. All are linked from this page.

October 24: Successful presentations were given by Yukitaka Nireki and Mia Serita on Japanese ODA, and by Masayoshi Sogabe and Yosuke Yoshioka on causes of the decreasing birthrate in Japan. A note will be added to this page as soon as evaluations are posted. May I remind Yukitaka and Mia that I would like to have color copies, either print or electronic, of their impressive graphs, and a copy of the sheet that explained the different agencies from which Japanese ODA originates.

Students are reminded that because of the university festival our next class meeting will be in two weeks, November 7. In that class we will have the last of the first-round presentations, on OSI. Please remember to print a copy of the presentation evaluation worksheet in advance of the class.

In the November 7 class we will also have an evaluation session on the first round of formal presentations. In preparation for that please bring a copy of the evaluation sheets for the first six presentations. Four of these are available now and the others will be added soon. They are linked from this page.

I am hoping to receive e-mail that will resolve today’s deadlock about which presentation will be first, on November 14, in our round of final presentations. If that has not been resolved by November 7 we shall have to decide that day which presentation will follow on November 14.

October 23: Password-protected evaluations are up for the OLC / Disneyland and Overseas Chinese in Indonesia presentations.

October 17: Successful presentations were given by Masha Medori Haga and Namiko Tabuchi on the Oriental Land Corporation and Tokyo Disneyland, and by Kojin Nagao, Yoko Shinomiya, and Aiko Sugita on overseas Chinese in Indonesia. A note will be added to this page as soon as evaluations are posted.

Presentations in the October 24 class will be from the ODA panel and the Decreasing Birthrate panel. Students are reminded to print copies of the presentation evaluation worksheet in advance of the class.

October 14: Password-protected evaluations are up for the “West Side Story” and Photography presentations. In the October 17 class meeting students will be provided with a password to gain access.

October 10: The first presentations, by Saori Kitamoto on “West Side Story” and Shiho Takasou on the photography of the Vietnam War, were successful. The Disneyland panel and the Ethnic Chinese panel will present in the October 17 class.

Students are reminded to print copies of the presentation evaluation worksheet in advance of the class.

October 3: Peer evaluation procedures for the formal presentations were outlined and a description of each of the eight categories of evaluation explained. These are citation (spoken), citation (written), preparation, organization, development of ideas, use of visual / other aids, technique of presentation, and clarity.

Before the October 10 class begins students should print copies of the presentation evaluation worksheet. The presenters each will need one copy of the worksheet. All other students will need two.

September 26: Re-introduction to the course. Announcement that the first formal presentations of 25 to 30 minutes will begin October 10. Homework: send me an e-mail with the subject header “F1, D1” so that I am certain to have an electronic address for each student. If possible include a jpeg passport(-like) photograph. The October 3class will include a description of the categories and procedures for student evaluation of the formal presentations.

Presentation schedule:

October 10: “West Side Story,” Photography
October 17: Disneyland Panel, Ethnic Chinese panel
October 24: ODA panel, Decreasing Birthrate panel
November 7: OSI panel

July 4: In the last class meeting of the term students provided a written report about successes and failures (or problems) so far in the research process, and plans for furthering their work during the summer holiday.

June 27: Data-collection presentations were completed.

June 20: Adequate presentations on the collection of data from groups or individuals exploring the policies of the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, the ways the policies of the Oriental Land Corporation are reflected in the running of Tokyo Disneyland, and the ways photographs constructed the identity of Japanese women in the nineteenth century.

June 13: Good presentations on the collection of data, from groups exploring the ways NGOs allocate funds, representations of the Chinese community in Indonesia, and the ways mass media construct discourse, this last topic approached via a case study of media representations of the “Office of Strategic Influence.” These presentations will continue on June 20.

Students are reminded of the bibliography due next week.

June 6: The presentation groups met to discuss the collection of data. In the June 13 class we’ll begin semi-formal group presentations on the collection of the primary data sets. You may think of this as a progress report: what have you found? what are you having difficulty finding? has your experience in collecting data changed substantially or allowed you to nuance further your one-sentence proposal?

Announcement that the earlier-promised examination on the Hacker material will take the form of a perfectly-prepared bibliography of at least ten primary sources. This will be due at the beginning of the June 20 class meeting. Announcement that I shall accept no more than three reading diaries from any student in any week, and that I shall accept the diaries during the class meeting only (i.e., not in my mailbox or in my office after the class).

May 30: The workshop in topic proposals and the data sets they predict was concluded. Students should now be in the process of collecting all the data of the data sets identified. Standing weekly homework from this date until the week before presentations begin in late November will be successfully to complete three reading diaries per week. The minimum requirements for doing so will be to read at least one page from your data set at least three days per week (more pages would be good, but for completion of this assignment one per day three days per week is sufficient), and to complete a reading diary about the text. Three of these reading diaries will be due at the beginning of each class, beginning next week, June 6.

May 23: Brief lecture on research data sets, the importance of primary materials, research as a collection and analysis of data, and analysis as careful, thoughtful, informed, and intelligent description of data. Workshop in identifying data sets, particularly of primary materials. This will continue next week. The examination on the Hacker material has been postponed.

May 16: Continuation of the workshop in finessing topics and positions. Homework: be prepared to list (proper bibliographical form, of course) and to explain what you have found so far in the online databases. Students are reminded that the May 23 class will include an examination on the Hacker material assigned below.

May 9: Workshop in finessing topics and positions toward them so that they predict a manageable data set for collection and analysis. This will continue next week. All students should be exploring key terms for entry into the online databases mentioned here.

Announcement: the examination on the material from Hacker (see below, May 2 homework) will be May 23, not May 16 as previously announced.

May 2: One-question examination about the number students were asked to remember from this course page. Distinction drawn between primary and secondary sources. Discussion of the importance of both primary and secondary sources in a research project in the social sciences or humanities. Discussion of the importance of perfection in documentary style. Announcement that students and groups are free to use a documentary style of their choice in the presentation of research in this class, but that the “default” style (i.e., the style that I shall model) is APA, because of its widespread use in the social sciences. Student workshop to finalize groups and topics.

Homework: 1) read Hacker, pp. 143-67 (sections 33-37) on APA documentary style, in preparation for an examination on this material to be given May 16; 2) prepare a list (typed, standard manuscript form) of primary sources for your topic; 3) begin looking in the NACSIS Webcat and the Library of Congress Online Catalogue (hereafter called LCOC) for important secondary materials about your topic in both Japanese and English.

Fukiko, Namiko, Michiko, Ryota, Shiho, and Tetsuya are reminded of the attendance policy (see notes at April 18 below).

April 25: Lecture: “Constructing (writing, speaking) a Text about a Text, or: The Consumption of Knowledge.” Discussion of the necessity of keeping clear who is speaking in the texts that you construct. Further introductory comments about the course, including announcement of two policies intended to insure that all members of each group remain engaged with the topic and contribute to its development and presentation: 1) reading diaries, 2) peer evaluation within groups. These will be explained in more detail in coming weeks.

Homework: 1) re-do the summary of Rushdie on the basis of today’s lecture; 2) continue thinking about which topic you will address in the course and with whom you will work; 3) remember this number: 111754.

April 18: Introduction to the course. Announcement of attendance policy: in keeping with Faculty requirements more than 5 absences will result in failure; in addition, a prerequisite for an “S” grade is 0 absences, a prerequisite for an “A” no more than two absences.

Homework: 1) a 150-200-word summary of Salman Rushdie’s “The Assassination of Indira Gandhi” (typed, standard manuscript form); 2) a topic proposal that includes a) the names of 2, 3, or 4 students who will work on the topic and b) a sentence beginning with either “We want to explain that . . .” or “We want to discover whether . . .”.