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Japanese Studies in the United States: Continuities and Opportunities. Patricia G. Steinhoff. What Has Changed in 2005?. What is Left?. Solid core of committed Japan specialists Steady supply of new doctoral candidates Existing programs dramatically stronger More faculty More disciplines
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Japanese Studies in the United States: Continuities and Opportunities Patricia G. Steinhoff
What is Left? • Solid core of committed Japan specialists • Steady supply of new doctoral candidates • Existing programs dramatically stronger • More faculty • More disciplines • More staff • More courses • More complex organizations
Japanese Studies Programs • Institutions with Japanese Studies programs 184 • Japan specialist staff at institutions 1,652 • Programs with more than 12 staff 42 • Courses concerning Japan 5,374 • Japanese language courses (37%) 1,757 • Japanese Studies courses3,617 • Japanese libraries with > 40,000 volumes 30
Change at Two Levels • Societal and Global Changes • Technological Change now Pervasive • New Resources Based on Technology • Personal, Direct Access to Resources • Changes Within Japanese Studies • Generational Shift • Increased Japanese Language Skills • Intellectual Paradigm Shift
Three Paradigms Language and Area Studies Economic Competition Cultural Studies
Language and Area Studies • Study Japanese Language • Plus Japan through various disciplines • Includes humanities and social sciences • Places Japan specialists in disciplines
Economic Competition Paradigm • Japan as #1vis-a-vis the US • Japanese as economically useful • New forms of knowledge needed • New forms of delivery required • Social sciences and professions Economic Competition Language and Area Studies
Cultural Studies Paradigm • Blurs disciplinary lines • Subcultures, popular culture as key themes • Research models from humanities • De-emphasizes social science disciplines Economic Competition Language and Area Studies Cultural Studies
Implications for Japanese Libraries • Societal and Global Changes • Direct access to information anywhere • Problem of isolated scholar access decreases • Librarians as information specialists • Changes within Japanese Studies • Broader demand for Japanese materials • Demand for new types of materials