Kumagai Seminar: Social Issues in the Information Age Society- A Comparative Perspective

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Kumagai SeminarSocial Issues in the
Information Age Society-A Comparative Perspective

• Fumie Kumagai, Ph.D.
• Professor of Sociology
• Kyorin University, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan
• E-Mail fkumagai_at_sfc.ne.jp
• URL http//www.sfc.keio.ac.jp/n96287fk/
• KSB http//blog.livedoor.jp/fk_seminar/
• KSB-Photo Album http//ksb.cocolog-nifty.com/phot
  os/ksb_photo/

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OUTLINE

• Objectives-To Know To Express Yourself
• Textbooks References
• Multimedia
• Oral Presentations Using PowerPoint
• Writing Training in English Japanese
• Retreats
• Schedule for Two Years
• What Is Expected of You?
• Interested in This Seminar?
• Experiential Seminar Open Seminar

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OBJECTIVES

• To Know To Express Yourself
• To Understand the Information Age Society
  Social Issues
• To Learn to Debate on Controversial Social Issues
  
• To Study US-Japan Comparative Analyses
• To Familiarize Yourself with Multimedia
• To Understand Analyses vs. Descriptions
• To Ask WHY and to Think in English
• To Foster Both Objectivity Subjectivity
• To Acquire Critical Writing Abilities in Japanese

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ASK WHY IT IS SO?

• Debates on Social Issues through Sociological
  Perspectives
• A Comparative Perspective
• Analysis vs. Description
• Study Causal Relationships rather than take
  things for granted.
• An Example Poverty in the U.S.A. Why so many?
  What are the causes?
• http//www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/a
  rchives/income_wealth/007419.html

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TEXTBOOKS REFERENCES

• Textbooks
• Finsterburch McKenna (eds.) 2006. Taking
  Sides Clashing Views on Controversial Social
  Issues, 14th ed., Dushkin/McGraw Hill, April
  2006. http//www.dushkin.com/text-data/catalog/
  0073514969.mhtml?SECTIONOVERVIEWover
• Websters New World Pocket Dictionary, Macmillan.
• References http//web.sfc.keio.ac.jp/n96287fk/pr
  ofile.html
• Kumagai, 1996. Unmasking Japan Today, Praeger.
• ????????????????????2005. ???????.
• ??????21????????????2004. ????.
• ??????????????1999. ???????.
• ????(?) ?????????????? 1997. ???????.
• ?????????????????USA?1996. JETRO.

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Taking Sides Social Issues, 14th ed., April
2006 (http//www.dushkin.com/text-data/catalog/
0073514969.mhtml?SECTIONOVERVIEWover)

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MULTIMEDIA

• Kumagai Seminar HP http//web.sfc.keio.ac.jp/n96
  287fk/KumagaiSeminar/KumagaiSeminar.html
• Submit Assignments by E-mail
• Search Web Sites on the Topic of Your Interest
  for Oral Presentations (Google Yahoo Goo, etc.)
• PowerPoint Slideshow Presentations in English
• KSB Kumagai-Seminar-Blog Communication among
  Kumagai Seminar Members http//blog.livedoor.jp/fk
  _seminar/
• KSB-Photo Album http//ksb. cocolog-nifty.com/
  photos/ksb_photo/
• Kyorin e-Learning Websites
  http//www.kyorin-u.com/foreign/

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ORAL PRESENTATIONS

• Controversial Social Issues in the Information
  Age Society
• Presentations in English (60 mts)
• Presentations Using PowerPoint Slideshow
  Presentation Tool
• Foster Critical Thinking Abilities

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ENGLISH

• As Lingua Franca-an International Language
• As a means of communication
• To be able to express your own ideas clearly
• Thinking in English
• What you say (content) is far more important than
  the fluency in English itself.
• Critical writing ability is essential of all the
  skills in English.

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JAPANESE

• Critique in Japanese
• To foster and to express your critical ideas
• To possess good understandings on Japan to well
  prepared for a member of global society

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WRITING TRAINING IN ENGLISH JAPANESE

• Internet Society ENGLISH JAPANESE
• ENGLISH as a Means of Communication
• JAPANESE as Formation of Your Values
• Train to Think in English
• Summarize Articles in English
• Write Thesis in English
• Critique on Short Essays in JAPANESE?SUBMIT
  ASSIGNMENTS BY E-MAIL

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Globalization and Cross-Cultural Communication

• Samuel P. Huntington, 1997,
• The Clash of Civilization and Remaking of
  World Order.
• Anthony Giddens, Runaway WorldHow Globalization
  is Reshaping Our Lives, BBC Reith Lectures 1999
  http//news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/events/rei
  th_99/default.htm
• Global Culture

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Globalization of Culture ?Global Culture
is NOT Equal to the Universality of
Culture ? Globalization based on Cross-Cultural
Communication ? Suggests Remaking of World
Order based on the Diversity of World
Culture ? Language ? Religion ? Social
Structure
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RETREATS (GASSHUKU)

• Spring Retreat (April) Daigaku Seminar House in
  Hachioji Orientation to the Seminar
• Summer Retreat (August) Hotaiji Zen Temple
  in Shizuoka - Zazen
  and Zen Culture

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SCHEDULE FOR TWO YEARS

• 2007 April Spring Retreat
• 2007 April-July Taking Sides
• 2007 September Paper Outline Due
• 2007 August Summer Retreat
• 2007 October-December Japanese Critique, and
  Oral Presentations on American Issues
• 2008 January Junior-Year Paper Due (Hard Copy)
• 2008 April-July Social Issues in Japan
• 2008 August Thesis Outline Due
• 2008 August Fall Retreat
• 2008 October-December Oral Presentations on
  Japanese Issues
• 2008 December Draft of Thesis Due (Hard Copy)

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WHAT IS EXPECTED OF YOU?

• Active Participation
• Be Positive Responsible for Yourself
• Logical Reasoning
• Be Explicit and Expressive
• Be On Time For Assignments
• Group Activities and Team Work
• ADC Autonomous, Distributive, Collaborative
  (????????)

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INTERESTED IN THIS SEMINAR?

• Challenging, Rewarding, and Accomplishment
• All Will Be Admitted Provided You Are Willing to
  Try Hard
• Learning Process is More Important Over the
  Consequence Itself
• About Myself (Short Essay in English) Pick up
  the document from the Kyomuka, or Professor
  Kumagai at Rm. D-510
• Attend One of the Experiential Seminar and/or
• the OPEN SEMINAR ? OPEN SEMINAR

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OPEN SEMINAR

• Debate on Is Globalization Good for Mankind?
• ?YES /NO WHY
• Critique in Japanese

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Experiential Seminar (ES) OPEN SEMINAR (OS)

• ???????????(??????????????
• ?demonstration)???????????????
• ?????????????????
• ??ES ?OS??????????????????
• ??(?)????4,5,6??(240p.m.700p.m.??)
• ??Rm. E-311
• ES 2006?10?17?, 24?, 31?(?)
• OS 2006?11?7?(?)(????????????
• ???????????????????????
• ???????????????????)

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WHY DONT YOU JOIN THE KUMAGAI SEMINAR TO
CHALLENGE REMEMBER COLLEGE LIFE AT KYORIN!