SEASON’S GREETINGS!
Dear Friends,
This year marks a full decade since I first began working with the IUC, and I couldn’t help taking a moment to reflect on just how far the IUC has come. Today we are serving more students than ever before, and with the recent additions of full-time Resident Director Bruce Batten and Managing Director Giles Richter, we are serving both our students and our community of alumni and supporters better than ever before. None of this would be possible without your constant engagement and generosity. Please know what an impact you are having, and thank you so much!
With warm wishes for the holiday season,
Indra Levy, IUC Executive Director
Dear Friends,
It has been a terrific first year living and breathing the IUC. I have been continually amazed to discover just how wide, extensive and energetic our network is: spanning the past 56 years and now reaching into the future, IUC alumni are an incredibly diverse group of people not only specializing in Japan and Japanese, but also combining this with deep expertise in an ever-widening range of disciplines and professions. Drawing our community closer together is a priority, and this year we were able to hold gatherings in NY, Tokyo, and the Bay Area. Stay tuned for more events and activities in 2020!
Giles Richter (IUC ’92), IUC Managing Director |
|
|
|
IN THIS ISSUE:
○ Giving to the IUC
○ Center News
○ Alumni News
○ Other News
○ Upcoming Events
○ Holiday Shopping
○ Call for Applications
○ IUC Professional Tutorials
○ We Are Hiring |
|
|
SUPPORTING FUTURE STUDENTS |
December is a critical month for the IUC. It is the last moment in 2019 when you can contribute toward our mission to support next year’s students and to strengthen the experience and quality of IUC training. We have made it easier and more economical for you to give by adding some smart new digital tools like FreeWill and IRA QDCs to our Donate page. Please help us reach our 2019 goals to support our next class of students!
STUDENT NEWS
Here are a few facts about the class of 2020, which arrived in September. We have 59 students, 58% female and 42% male, whose average age is 27. The great majority hail from schools in North America, but in terms of nationality they represent 13 different countries and regions: the US, China, Canada, England, Colombia, Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, India, Ireland, Russia, and Switzerland. Of them, 19 are undergraduates or recent BAs, 24 are master’s students or recent MAs, 15 are doctoral students, and 1 is a recent PhD. In terms of academic specialization, most students are in some branch of Japanese Studies or Asian Studies, but a surprisingly large number are not: among other fields represented are French, Mathematics, Ecology and Biology, Hispanic Studies, Irish Studies, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Piano Performance, and Science and Technology Studies.
RECENT IUC EVENTS
IUC LECTURE SERIES IN TOKYO
Susan J. Napier (IUC ’76, Goldthwaite Professor of Rhetoric and Japanese Studies at Tufts University) gave a well-received talk about her latest book, Miyazakiworld (Yale, 2018) at the International House of Japan on Friday, November 15 as part of the ongoing “IUC Lecture Series” cosponsored by the Nippon Foundation. The talk, like the book, explored the life and art of animator and film director Hayao Mizayaki. By happy coincidence, the book’s Japanese translation, Miyazakiwārudo, was published that very same day by Hayakawa Shobō.
IUC ALUMNI DINNER IN NYC
On the evening of Thursday October 17, some 25 IUC alumni gathered for a cozy dinner and energetic conversation at the historic Nippon Club in midtown Manhattan. It was a great event, with alumni representing all decades since the Center’s founding in 1963. After greetings from Indra Levy and Giles Richter, guests heard inspiring testimonials from recent Center graduates working in the NY area, including Angel Acosta (’16), Lia Robinson (’19), and Pierson Broadwater (’19). Pierson also played a key role as the IUC’s sponsoring member at Nippon Club. As usual, people arrived early and stayed late. There was an enthusiastic call for more regular gatherings in the NY area as well as for increased professional networking and career mentoring among alumni, old and new. Please stay tuned for more information on upcoming gatherings in NY! >> photos and attendees
IUC ALUMNI PICNIC AT STANFORD
On Sunday afternoon, October 6, some fifty IUC alumni, friends, and family from the Bay Area and elsewhere joined us in front of Encina Hall on the Stanford Campus for a festive picnic and a live performance by the Palo Alto TAIKO SOBA ensemble. Several members of the IUC Alumni Leadership board were in attendance, including Board Chair Andy Hazleton (’05), Martha Debs (’80), and David Evans (’79), as well as Executive Director Indra Levy and Managing Director Giles Richter (’92). After sharing greetings and lunch, guests heard a brief history of modern Taiko and then were treated to a rousing performance of Taiko drumming featuring both established and original compositions written by members of the troupe. The event concluded with an extensive live Taiko tutorial that allowed guests to get their hands on “Taiko bachi” drumsticks and hammer out some basic rhythms. >> photos and attendees
ALUMNI RECOGNITION
NIHU International Prize in Japanese Studies
Haruo Shirane (IUC ’75), Shincho Professor of Japanese Literature and Culture and Chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University, has been selected by Japan’s National Institutes for the Humanities as the first recipient of the NIHU International Prize in Japanese Studies. >> NIHU Magazine
Okinawa Essay Contest
On March 19, Hilson Reidpath (IUC ’18; PhD candidate, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa) was awarded first place in the first annual Okinawa Essay Contest, sponsored by the Okinawa Prefectural government and The George Washington University in Washington, DC. Hilson’s prizewinning essay was on the Okinawan poet Yamanokuchi Baku (1903–1963). >> KITV4 Island News
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
So many of our alumni have published recently that we couldn’t feature them all in our newsletter. If you do not see your book listed in our full list of recent publications, please let us know so that we can add it. >> recent publication list
CENTER VISITORS
November was a big month for visitors to Yokohama. On November 6, the very last day of their extended trip to Korea and Japan, James and Elaine Baxter visited the IUC for a fond reunion with faculty and staff. Dr. Baxter was Resident Director from 2009 to 2016 and contributed to the IUC’s development in many important ways. On November 15, Eugene Lee, trustee of the Blakemore Foundation, came to meet with this year’s three Blakemore Freeman Fellows, Heather Davis, Dylan Plung, and Cassie Rodriguez. And on November 18, Jeremy Silverman (’75) and his wife Mary Sutherland paid their first visit to our Yokohama premises, where they met with three current students—Jon Foissotte, Sulwyn Lim, and Katherine Reilly—and imparted some timeless advice: “stay in touch with your fellow students; some of them will be your friends for life!”
PERSONNEL CHANGES
Program Coordinator Ari Sato will be taking a one-year leave from the ICU starting in September 2020 to pursue a second master’s degree. We would all like to congratulate Ari-sensei on her acceptance to the MA program at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Education.
Shinobu Ikeda, our finance and administrative officer in Yokohama, will be leaving in February after seven years at the IUC. Faculty, staff, and students alike will sorely miss her smiling face and her outstanding work.
UPCOMING EVENTS
IUC LECTURE SERIES IN TOKYO | April 10, 2020
The next installment of the IUC Lecture Series will take place on April 10, 2020, when Patricia MacLachlan (IUC ’92, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Texas, Austin) will speak on Japanese agricultural policy and contemporary rural society.
As usual, the talk will be held at the International House of Japan.
IUC AT AAS IN BOSTON | TBD
This coming March 19-22, the IUC leadership team and dozens of IUC alumni will be traveling to Boston for the annual conference of the Association for Asian Studies. We are still confirming the precise time and place for an IUC gathering, but if you are planning to be in Boston at this time, please mark the period off on your calendar and stay tuned for an update via email!
PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS IN THE NEWS
The Nippon Foundation
Chairman Yohei Sasakawa of The Nippon Foundation received three prestigious awards in 2019: On February 26, he became the first Japanese national to receive the Gandhi Peace Prize from the Government of India. The Government of Japan awarded the Chairman the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun on May 23 and also designated him a Person of Cultural Merit on November 5. The Nippon Foundation continues to provide full fellowships for twenty IUC students every year. >> Chairman Sasakawa’s blog
HOLIDAY SHOPPING
Last Minute Holiday Shopping
Did the holidays sneak up on you, and you’re still searching for a gift for that special someone? Well, look no further. Check out Kasumisou Gallery’s online store for a vast selection of accessories, home decor, and more! This gallery, which is run by IUC alum Mark Rosasco (’98), gives a portion of proceeds from sales to IUC alumni and supporters back to the IUC.
Thank you Mark!
STUDY AT THE IUC IN 2020–21
Call for Applications
We are currently accepting applications for our academic year and summer programs held in 2020–21 and the deadlines are quickly approaching. Please visit our website for more information and scholarship opportunities in the 10-Month Program!
Apply Here:
10-Month Program | January 10, 2020
Summer Program | February 9, 2020
Kanbun Program | March 15, 2020
OTHER IUC OPPORTUNITIES
IUC Professional Tutorials (P-Course)
The IUC offers a custom-designed tutorials program in advanced Japanese for scholars and professionals at a lower rate for graduates of the IUC. Visit our program page for more information.
Scholarships for IUC Alumni Enrolling at Middlebury Institute for International Studies
IUC alumni enrolling in degree programs at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies are eligible for a $12,000 scholarship! For details, contact Jill Stoffers, Senior Director of Enrollment Management at MIIS by e-mail at jill.stoffers@miis.edu or by phone at (831) 647-6571.
WE ARE HIRING!
We are currently accepting applications for a full-time two-year fixed term (renewable) teaching position at our school in Yokohama. Applications will be accepted through March 31, 2020. More information about the position, eligibility requirements, and application can be found here: English | 日本語
|