What Are You Working On (#WAYWO): For Whom and For What Cause? The History of K-12 Japanese Language and Culture Education in Wisconsin

Title

For Whom and For What Cause? The History of K-12 Japanese Language and Culture Education in Wisconsin

Abstract

In this presentation, Prof. Junko Mori discussed her ongoing research project. Prof. Mori explained how this project employs the lenses of cultural diplomacy, linguistic capital, and raciolinguistic dynamics to investigate the development, implementation, and legacy of the Japanese Language and Culture Assistant Program. This program was administered by the state’s Department of Public Instruction from 1989 to 1993. The study—a blend of contemporary history, ethnography, and autobiography—therefore explores how the fundamental purpose and benefits of Japanese language and culture education in this upper Midwestern state were envisioned differently by diverse stakeholders.

Biography

CEAS faculty Junko Mori is Professor of Japanese Linguistics with the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at UW Madison. Professor Mori’s research interests center on the application of the sociological methodology of “conversation analysis” to the study of talk-in-interaction involving first and second language speakers of Japanese. She has investigated the relationship between linguistic structures and organizations of social interaction, classroom discourse, intercultural communication, and workplace interaction. Her most recent project explores the impact of globalization of higher education upon world language education.