This thesis aimed to study and analyze the intercultural and intracultural encounters of students enrolled in an ESL writing class at a large community college in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Two basic questions guided the study: first, how did ESL students from Korea react to each other as well as to students from other countries while studying English in the United States; and second, how did these reactions affect Korean students' perceptions of their ESL classes? The purpose of this study was to investigate the intercultural experiences of Korean learners in an intensive ESL program, and based on its findings, to suggest ways to improve intercultural relations in such classes. The study used reflective journals to ascertain Korean learners' perceptions of their intercultural encounters with classmates. The study findings demonstrated a surprising candor and sophistication on the part of Korean learners to express themselves about these encounters. Based on the research findings, recommendations were made for incorporating intercultural relations sensitivity training into ESL course curricula. This descriptive study contributed to the body of education literature that advocates focusing more attention on students' perceptions of their learning environment.

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As a text Botandōrō demonstrates bibliographic codes that straddle the border between modern and pre-modern literature. Wakabayashi would present his work as the fruit of his technique of ‘photographing language’ that, by extension, would provide closer and more direct access to the interiority of “author.” In his prologue he presented his shorthand method as a technique that would come to represent the new standard of modern writing. As they created a new system for transcribing language, stenographers were wrestling with the philosophical nature and limitations of language in spoken and written form, and their discoveries and accomplishments would provide a framework for future authors during a highly transformative period in the history of Japanese literature, whether intentional or not. By focusing on these paratextual elements in Botandōrō in the context of the tale’s intertextual construction we find that it is best viewed as a text that exhibits aspects of modern and pre-modern literature in its presentation as a material object, the claims it makes for sokki as a modern writing technique, and its negotiations with the idea of authorship.

The chapter “Regulations of a King” 王制 illustrates a new pragmatic form of governance through morality around five issues. First, the chapter practically discusses three modes of statecraft, detailing which mode of statecraft is most effective and why. Next, it discusses the importance of the existence of law fa 法. Third, it transforms the concept of ritual as a tool of governance and an extension of law. Fourth, it describes rewards and punishments as political tools to reinforce an educational and transformational program for moral quality. Finally, it discusses perhaps the most unique tool of governance, definitive judgment lei 類. Through the examination of these five issues in “Regulations of a King”, I intend to show that the chapter “Regulations of a King” illustrates a new pragmatic form of governance through morality by displaying a more practical style of rhetoric and political tools for effective administering of a state.

Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood (1987) veers from his favored detective-fiction genre by offering readers a 1960s coming-of-age romance, a story whose plot nonetheless spins around the protagonist seeking out his personal identity. The conflicts between Japanese tradition and modern, global perspectives are illustrated through the inclusion of popular culture elements such as music, literature and films. This thesis seeks to show how the novel's references to popular culture of the 1960s combine to help the protagonist establish an identity for himself as well as his place within the universal community. First, though, the project explores the impact of the translatability issues that arise with each of the novel's two English translations, variations dictated by the needs of differing audiences. The introduction provides an overview of the study, as well as historical background pertinent to the understanding of the Sixties-era popular culture iconography privileged by Murakami. My methodology favors a cultural studies approach and utilizes reader response and reception theories. Separate chapters then compare specifics between the two translations and examine the functionality and significance of music, literature and film within the novel. The conclusion justifies the subsequent deviations between the translations and argues for the necessity and value of both English versions, but claims Rubin's as the definitive English translation. Likewise, the study of the novel's many popular culture references exemplifies the roles that music, books, and film play in the creation of the protagonist's individual identity in Norwegian Wood while simultaneously illustrating the effectiveness of using globally recognizable media as a bridge between cultures.

This thesis is a translation and analysis of select tanka from the tanka anthology, Ai wo utae (Sing Love), by Suzukake Shin, an openly gay Japanese contemporary tanka poet. Published by Seidosha in 2019, the anthology contains twenty-eight rensaku (sequences) with a total of 295 individual tanka. In this thesis, I have translated six of the twenty-eight rensaku for a total of sixty-three individual tanka. Tanka are a thirty-one syllable Japanese poem that has its roots in the Heian Period (794-1185). Before presenting my English translations of Suzukake’s tanka, I give a critical introduction that consists of three main sections: Background, Analysis by Theme, and Translation Commentary. In the background section I discuss Suzukake's biography and give a brief history of tanka to lay out the genre and place Suzukake in it. Next, in the analysis section I identify and discuss three major themes representative of Suzukake’s essence as a poet through detailed analysis of select tanka which exemplify the themes. The three major themes are: The Natural: Nature & the Body, The Everyday: Objects & Experiences, and The Technological: Technology & a Modern World. Finally, in the last section I discuss my overall approach to tanka translation in addition to major theories drawn from the translation studies field which have informed my translation process. I have also included an afterword which discusses why I believe gayness does not take on a theme of itself in Suzukake’s tanka.

In my investigation of Li-Young Lee's poetry, my concerns were two-fold: first, to find evidence of an androgynous quality or ideal; secondly, to demonstrate that ideal as authentically feminist. In the introduction, I investigate the feminist debate about the traditional definition and concept of androgyny, demonstrating the difference between the patriarchal traditional androgyny and the androgynous elements in Lee's poetry. In Chapter Two, the rose as image and as symbol in Lee's poetry is examined and found to be strikingly androgynous as a symbol. As an image, however, it is more often than not used as a vehicle to describe the destructive nature of social tyrannies such as the patriarchal symbolic order. In Chapter Three, Lee's heavy implications of an existing "other" is examined. This examination is particularly pertinent when considering the feminist debate, since one of the major problems with the idea of androgyny is that it often necessitates a binary thought system in which the male is usually the "one" and the female is usually the "other." In Lea's poetry, I found no significant evidence of that kind of phallocentricism; rather, I found substantial evidence that Lee's poetry demonstrates the destructiveness of insisting on any being's otherness. Lee's search for identity, and for the meaning of personal identity, involves the acceptance of the mutability of identity. In conclusion, although I don't find androgyny to be authentically feminist, I find Lee's poetry--and its particular use of an androgynous ideal--to be authentically feminist.

The importance of learning English to find success in today’s global community has never been more vital. However, choosing the best method for teaching English language skills in the second language (L2) classroom is still open for debate. This paper examines L2 strategies for teaching English in Taiwan. More important, it examines the notion that English as a Foreign Language (EFL) training in Taiwan could be made more successful by incorporating more effective EFL teaching strategies, including a communicative, or creativity based methodology for second language learning. EFL teaching methodology in Taiwan has and continues to emphasize a teacher centered learning strategy for L2 instruction, one where students do not question the instructor’s opinions or authority—a learning environment where students heavily rely on memorization, where creativity and critical thinking take a back seat in the classroom learning environment, in many ways a receptive style methodology. This paper will attempt to identity and examine what factors determine why Taiwanese teachers continue to rely on the teacher centered approach to L2 training— emphasizing a receptive methodology to EFL instruction, as opposed to a more creative, or communicative approach emphasizing critical thinking and creativity. Data from this study is derived from interviews of multiple Taiwanese university students currently studying in United States. Data is also drawn from the writings of leading researchers and scholars as amplified upon in the literature review section and related discussions. This paper first examines some of the underlying concerns associated with Taiwanese L2 training programs and related EFL research. It also reviews the results of data analysis of student interviewee responses, which point to two main problem areas, or themes, which negatively impact Taiwan L2 training strategies: 1) an over emphasis on teacher centered instruction or a lecture only lesson 2) an over emphasis on student memorization as a learning technique, which may lead to an absence of critical thinking and creativity in the L2 learning environment. Discussions also examine how more effective elements of EFL teaching methodology may positively impact L2 training in Taiwan. The findings of this paper will hopefully add a positive perspective regarding L2 training in Taiwan as well as improve study experiences for those Taiwan students seeking to further their educational opportunities in America.

There are several theories involving civil-military relations that have been established since the Cold War. Shaped by the political transitions of Europe and Latin America, how do these theories apply to the Third Wave of democratizations? How does a more contemporary analysis of theory help understand more contemporary insurgencies such as the Arab Spring?

The Portland Japanese School (hoshuukoo) was established as a supplementary Saturday school by a Japanese business group of Portland (Shokookai). The mission of this school is to provide Japanese education to Japanese students who eventually go back to Japan and continue to study in the Japanese school system. My previous project found that Japanese parents, who are long term U.S. residents, want to send their children to the Portland hoshuukoo for the purpose of giving a heritage Japanese education. Utilizing a case study qualitative approach, the current study administered a questionnaire to heritage Japanese students and interviewed them, their parents, the school administrator, and teachers to shed light on their perceptual differences in expectations towards hoshuukoo. The data collected through the questionnaire and interview found that while the school maintains the original mission that hoshuukoo is to provide Japanese national education to those who will go back to Japan and continue to study in the Japanese schooling, the parents of heritage Japanese students expect that their children learn the Japanese language and culture and become "Japanese-like" person who acquires "Japanese-ness" from the education and experiences at the Portland hoshuukoo. It was also found that the teachers are aware of the gaps between the heritage Japanese students' needs for Japanese as a heritage language instruction and the school's mission but they have not been able to fulfill the student needs and expectations due to the absolute mission of the school and lack of time and resources. While there is the teacher's dilemma towards education to the heritage Japanese students, Portland hoshuukoo still carries a role as a place able to provide a heritage Japanese education with some conditions: which require heritage Japanese students tremendous effort and require their parents great support for their children. Considering that the heritage Japanese students at the Portland hoshuukoo may increase in future, this study suggests that now is the time to rethink or revise the school's mission to fulfill expectations and needs of students and parents at Portland hoshuukoo.