SPICE is proud to announce a new partnership with Oita Prefecture in Japan to develop an online course for high school students in Oita Prefecture. The new program, called Stanford e-Oita, will launch in the fall of 2019 and will introduce Japanese high school students to U.S. culture and society. The students will also have an opportunity to improve their English language skills, as the course will be conducted entirely in English.

To commemorate the new online course and partnership between Stanford University and Oita Prefecture, SPICE hosted a ceremony on Stanford campus last week with Oita Governor Katsusada Hirose and a large contingent of Japanese businessmen and government workers from Oita Prefecture, including representatives from the Development Bank of Japan and Japan Semiconductor. Also in attendance was Dr. Michael Armacost, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and an old friend of Governor Hirose.

“I am so honored to be here at the ceremony with my old schoolmate Ambassador Armacost,” commented Governor Hirose during his formal remarks. “I also extend my sincere gratitude to SPICE Director Dr. Mukai for your generous and continued support on this. It is a dream for our students to be able to take classes from Stanford University even in Oita, a regional city in Japan. I hope the agreement this time will be a great opportunity for students of both countries to learn from each other.”

Planning for the Stanford e-Oita online course is still at an early stage, but the main course topics are now being decided. Dr. Mukai moderated a discussion on possible topics for the new course, and several of those in attendance enthusiastically contributed suggestions for consideration. The SPICE staff shared their experiences teaching other online courses such as Stanford e-Japan, Stanford e-Tottori, Stanford e-Hiroshima, and the Reischauer Scholars Program (a course on Japan for U.S. high school students). Oita Prefectural Board of Education’s Keisuke Toyoda, who oversees the Stanford e-Oita online course, also offered his high-priority topics for the program, which includes entrepreneurship, Japan–U.S. relations, region-to-region partnerships, and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Several others offered their suggestions, as well.

Ambassador Armacost also made formal remarks, commenting especially on the strong and natural modern partnership between the United States and Japan, but also how U.S.–Japan relations at the governmental level have evolved over time to become a more balanced relationship.

“Back in my days—in the late ‘80s, early ‘90s—the United States used to approach U.S.–Japan relations with a kind of instructional mindset. ‘How can we teach Japan to be more like us?’ I always disagreed with that approach,” shared Ambassador Armacost. “Nowadays, it seems to be much better—a more reciprocal mindset. ‘What can we learn from each other to build a better future?’”

Fittingly, it is in that same spirit of mutual respect, reciprocity, and hope for the future that SPICE and Oita Prefecture launch our new Stanford–Oita partnership and online course.

“I have a lot of expectations for the future,” commented Governor Hirose. “Thank you so much.”

To stay informed of SPICE-related news, join our email list and follow SPICE on Facebook or Twitter.

Related articles:

• Twenty High School Students Accepted into Stanford Online Course on Modern China
• The Largest Cohort of High School Students Successfully Completes the SKSP Online Course on Korea at Stanford
• Seasons Of The RSP: An Online Teacher's Reflection on Teaching About Japan

SPICE’s Stanford e-Japan Manager and Instructor Waka Takahashi Brown has won the 2019 Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award for her teaching excellence with Stanford e-Japan, an online course that introduces U.S. society and culture and U.S.–Japan relations to high school students in Japan. Stanford e-Japan is currently supported by the Yanai Tadashi Foundation. Initial funding for Stanford e-Japan was provided by the U.S.-Japan Foundation. Brown will formally accept the award at a ceremony at Stanford University on December 5, 2019.

“Waka walks in the footsteps of Elgin Heinz as a key leader in educating the next generation about the U.S.–Japan relationship,” stated David Janes, Chair of the Board, EngageAsia. Janes has overseen the Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award since its inception in 2001.

Read the full article.

EngageAsia administers the Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award, which is funded by the United States-Japan Foundation. The Award recognizes exceptional teachers who further mutual understanding between Americans and Japanese. The 2019 Award focused on the humanities and the 2020 Award is expected to focus on Japanese language. It is named in honor of Elgin Heinz for his commitment to educating students about Asia as well as for the inspiration he has provided to the field of pre-collegiate education.

Related articles:

• Spring session of Stanford e-Japan online course begins
• Yanai Tadashi Foundation and SPICE/Stanford University
• Winners announced for the Fall 2018 Stanford e-Japan Award

Last week, 23 educators from across North America gathered at Stanford University for the 2019 East Asia Summer Institute for High School Teachers, a teacher professional development seminar offered by SPICE in partnership with the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. Over three days of rich content lectures, discussion, and experiential learning, institute participants deepened their background knowledge on Asia and began to rethink and revamp their curriculum plans for the coming school year.

This year’s participants came from as far away as Concord, New Hampshire and Vancouver, Canada, although most attendees were high school teachers in the San Francisco Bay Area. They represented a wide range of teaching subjects, from history and language arts to statistics and genocide studies, but all sought to strengthen their teaching through a clearer, more nuanced understanding of Asia, U.S.–Asia relations, and the Asian American experience—the three main areas explored in this year’s summer institute.

Participant Hellie Mateo poses with a book she made by hand using traditional Japanese book-binding methods.

The institute’s guest speakers came from similarly diverse backgrounds, being scholars, artists, authors, and Stanford University professors with expertise on a specific aspect of Asia, U.S.–Asia relations, or the Asian American experience. Interwoven between their captivating content lectures were classroom-focused lesson demonstrations, hands-on activities, and pedagogy discussions facilitated by SPICE curriculum designers. “We make sure we balance subject-matter content with practical application in all of our teacher professional development seminars,” notes SPICE Director Dr. Gary Mukai. “That’s why we focus so much time and energy on pedagogy and lesson demonstrations. We want to help high school teachers translate their newfound knowledge directly into the classroom.”

To that end, summer institute participants each receive several free books, films, and SPICE lesson plans to help them bring Asia alive for their students. They also receive a stipend and become eligible for three optional units of credit from Stanford Continuing Studies.

“Being in the Bay Area—and particularly at Stanford University—we have access to such incredible experts on these subjects,” says institute coordinator and facilitator Naomi Funahashi. “Our job is to connect those experts with teachers in a way that supports teacher needs. That’s our goal for this summer institute.”

Although the high school teachers have now returned home from Stanford campus, their work is not done. They will now use the content they learned at the summer institute to create original lesson plans to incorporate into their own practice. When they reconvene for a final online session in late July / early August, they will share their lesson plans with each other, and each teacher will walk away with 22 brand new lesson plans designed by their colleagues. “We can’t wait to see what kinds of innovative lessons our teachers will come up with!” says Funahashi. “And we can’t wait to see how they incorporate these new lessons into their plans for the next school year.”

To view photos from the summer institute and read a more comprehensive recap what happened, please see the SPICE Facebook page.

Related articles:

• Application open for 2019 Summer Institute for High School Teachers
• The Freeman Foundation: Supporting the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia for 20 Years
• Institute highlights the teaching of Asia and the Asian-American experience

The following reflection is a guest post written by Stacy Shimanuki, SPICE student intern and a 2018 alum and honoree of the Reischauer Scholars Program. In the fall, she will be a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania.

My passion for Japan extends deep into my very identity as Japanese American. I am ethnically half Japanese and half Chinese; my great grandfather was an immigrant from Japan and thus, I am yonsei or fourth-generation Japanese American on my paternal side. My Japanese American grandfather was born in Hawaii and survived the Pearl Harbor bombing on Oahu; he went on to help make history in the renowned U.S. 100th Battalion and the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) as a Japanese language translator in Myanmar during World War II. I grew up visiting sites like the “Go For Broke” Monument in Los Angeles, the Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center in San Francisco, and the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center on Maui. This family history and heritage are always with me, and frames my experience with Japan and with U.S.–Japan relations.

However, because my ancestors immigrated to the United States so long ago, my father and most in his generation cannot speak Japanese and know relatively little of the culture; most of my generation knows even less about Japan. Moreover, since I don’t often visit my Japanese American side of the family in Hawaii, I’m much more familiar with my Chinese cultural heritage and Chinese American relatives here in California, and even identified more as Chinese American when I was younger. Yet, my interest in Japan remained, rekindled by my academic experience with Japan, both through Japanese language studies in high school and SPICE’s Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP), a rigorous and intellectually stimulating online course for high schoolers passionate about Japan and U.S.–Japan relations.

At my high school, beyond foreign language classes, the only international-related courses available were a semester of Global Studies freshman year, AP World History, and AP Human Geography—all three of which I took. However, despite fulfilling the core standards and even being excellent classes, none of them offered an intensive focus on a specific region, much less a single country. Through the RSP, as a mere high school senior I was granted the opportunity to explore a myriad of fascinating topics at a high academic level, such as: conflicts over the historical legacies of Japanese aggression in East Asia during World War II, the aging population and its impact on social perspective, the influence of traditional Buddhist and Shinto thought on a society normally considered extremely secular, the bursting of Japan’s economic bubble and recent recovery, and a variety of other issues. 

Moreover, almost no high school class teaches material the way the RSP does. Instead of relying on textbooks and handouts, we learned from more engaging sources: biographies and memoirs, academic journal excerpts, news articles, and lectures and discussions with professionals and expert scholars. Our various speakers such as former Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, a practicing Buddhist monk, a Japanese American internee, a Foreign Service Officer in Japan, and professors from both Japanese and American top-tier universities shared valuable knowledge, moving personal stories, and professional expertise and advice. The students also learned from each other; my classmates, selected for the RSP not only for their interest in Japan but also for their diverse perspectives and critical thinking and communication skills, contributed to thought-provoking and interdisciplinary discussion forums.

Additionally, the basic structure of the RSP—self-driven online learning—lent the freedom to truly learn for the sake of learning and the pursuit of knowledge. It was perhaps the first time I gave my all to studying merely because I was fascinated; at times it didn’t even feel like studying, just reading about and further researching aspects that struck me with interest, puzzlement, and excitement. Certain topics also struck a personal chord; for example, studying Japanese American internment prompted me to reflect on my own family’s struggles during the war both as internees and in the MIS. This in turn sparked me to individually research a longtime curiosity I had always wondered about but never looked into before—that is, the existence or not of World War II Japanese American spies for Japan. The topics that compelled me to individually dive deeper naturally sprouted into my final research project, connected under the theme of language, another area I love and credit with my original attraction to Japanese studies.

Student honorees of the 2018 Reischauer Scholars Program with Consul General Tomochika Uyama and RSP Instructor Naomi Funahashi.

That is the beauty of the RSP: the opportunity to discover Japan on a scholarly level rarely found otherwise, self-driven but supported by a dedicated instructor, fascinating speakers, and diverse and enthusiastic fellow students. For self-motivated students wanting to learn about Japan, to discover a love for learning, and to expand their perspective and worldview, the RSP is an absolute gold mine.

For me, it was also the stepping stone and foundation for a path of global discovery, scholarship, and service. The summer after the RSP, I received a scholarship to study abroad in Kyoto for a month, attending a private language school in the mornings and exploring the city in the afternoons. As my first time in Japan, I not only fell in love with the beautiful landscape—the endless sea of green mountains punctuated by bits of city or the brilliant fireworks display at Lake Biwako—but also the people, appreciating the friendly warmth of my host family and the kind earnestness of Japanese university students, whom I now consider close friends. This past year, I immersed myself in studying Mandarin at a high school in Beijing as a gap year through the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y), following my aspiration of being trilingual in Japanese, Mandarin, and English. Currently, I am incredibly grateful to work with SPICE for the summer as an intern, connecting further with the people and projects that have had such an impact on my education. And this fall, I will enter the University of Pennsylvania in the dual degree Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business. Focusing specifically on Japan and Japanese language, I will also study abroad for a semester at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. From my birth and family background, to my academic experiences including the RSP and my aspirations of East Asian expertise and contributing to diplomatic friendship across the Pacific, my journey is inextricably tied with Japan and her people.

For more information on the Reischauer Scholars Program, visit reischauerscholars.org. To be notified when the next RSP application period opens, join our email list or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

The Reischauer Scholars Program is one of several online courses for high school students offered by SPICE, Stanford University, including the China Scholars Program, the Sejong Scholars Program (on Korea), Stanford e-China, and Stanford e-Japan.

Related articles:

• Seasons Of The RSP: An Online Teacher's Reflection on Teaching About Japan
• Japan Day 2018: Recognizing future leaders in the U.S.–Japan relationship

Nearly 10 years ago, the 9/11 Tribute Museum in New York City reached out to SPICE following the donation of an origami crane to the Museum. This partnership led to a collaborative “Kamishibai Project” between the Museum and SPICE. The crane was folded by Sadako Sasaki, a girl who died in 1955 at the age of 12 of leukemia caused by exposure to radiation from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Sadako believed that folding 1,000 origami cranes would help her to regain her health. The origami crane was donated to the Museum by Sadako’s brother as a symbol of peace.

Illustration of the Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima, appearing in SPICE's “Sadako’s Paper Cranes and Lessons of Peace.” Artwork by Rich Lee.

In Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park there is a statue of Sadako raising a large paper crane over her head. Her statue stands as a monument to peace and commemorates the thousands of children who died from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Students from the United States and many other countries send thousands of origami cranes annually to the monument in a gesture of peace.

During his visit to Hiroshima last month, Rylan Sekiguchi had the chance to visit the statue of Sadako with Hiroshima Jogakuin Senior High School student Utako Hada, who leads tours of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. He learned from Hada and her teacher, Gerald O’Sullivan, that approximately 330 students from Hiroshima Jogakuin died from the atomic bombing. Hada informed Sekiguchi that those students were in morning chapel at the time of the blast. This had a profound impact on Sekiguchi and his desire to include peace education as a central part of Stanford e-Hiroshima, a new online course for high school students in Hiroshima that will be offered from September of this year. The online course is currently in development, and Sekiguchi will serve as the course instructor.

Sekiguchi had the honor of meeting with Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki of Hiroshima Prefecture, who in 2011 announced the “Hiroshima for Global Peace” initiative, a road map for nuclear abolition. Sekiguchi had the chance to discuss the development of the new online course with him. Commenting on Stanford e-Hiroshima, Yuzaki stated,

As Governor of Hiroshima, I see the value of engaging the “best and brightest” students in Hiroshima in an intensive study of U.S. society and culture that underscores the importance of U.S.–Japan relations. I believe that Stanford e-Hiroshima will encourage students in Hiroshima to study abroad in the United States as I did. As an alumnus of Stanford University (MBA, ’95), I feel strong ties to the university and to many of its faculty like Professor Daniel Okimoto, an advisor to SPICE.

Sekiguchi also had the opportunity to meet with Superintendent Rie Hirakawa of the Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education. Hirakawa noted, “As you know, the United States and Hiroshima have had a long important relationship and this new online course would help to ensure that the relationship remains a positive one.” With recommendations from Hirakawa, Sekiguchi visited seven high schools in Hiroshima Prefecture with several teacher consultants, including Rika Ryuoh and Nobuo Kawahara, and met with principals, teachers, and students who helped him further solidify the content and structure of Stanford e-Hiroshima. Two of the schools—Hiroshima University High School, Fukuyama, and Hiroshima Junior and Senior High School—have the designation of Super Global High Schools that “aim to foster globalized leaders who will be able to play active roles on the international stage.” This goal will align well with Stanford e-Hiroshima, which seeks to underscore the importance of helping high school students understand the interdependence between Japan and the United States. In addition to peace education, other course topics will likely include early Japanese immigration to the United States from Hiroshima, entrepreneurship between Hiroshima and the United States, and Hiroshima’s sister city relationship with Honolulu, Sekiguchi’s hometown.

As part of the online course, Sekiguchi also hopes to engage high school students in Honolulu with the Stanford e-Hiroshima students. Upon hearing this, I immediately envisioned these students as future messengers of peace between Japan and the United States, as I hope that Stanford e-Hiroshima will provide a platform for students to symbolically “share cranes” or messages of peace across the Pacific and seriously consider the goals of Governor Yuzaki’s “Hiroshima for Global Peace” initiative and their possible roles in it.

Stay informed of SPICE news by joining our email list or following us on Facebook and Twitter.

Related resources:

• Hiroshima: Perspectives of the Atomic Bombing
• Divided Memories: Comparing History Textbooks
• Examining Long-term Radiation Effects
• Nuclear Tipping Point (video)
• Sadako’s Paper Cranes and Lessons of Peace
• Reflections from an Atomic Bomb Survivor (video)

Applications open today for the Fall 2019 session of the Stanford University Scholars Program for Japanese High School Students (also known as “Stanford e-Japan”), which will run from October 1, 2019 to February 21, 2020. The deadline to apply is August 1, 2019.

Stanford e-Japan Program for high school students in Japan
Fall 2019 session (October 2019 to February 2020)
Application period: June 24 to August 1, 2019

All applications must be submitted at https://spicestanford.smapply.io/prog/stanford_e-japan/ via the SurveyMonkey Apply platform. Applicants and recommenders will need to create a SurveyMonkey Apply account to proceed. Students who are interested in applying to the online course are encouraged to begin their applications early.

Accepted applicants will engage in an intensive study of U.S. society and culture and U.S.–Japan relations. Ambassadors, top scholars, and experts from Stanford University and throughout the United States provide web-based lectures and engage students in live discussion sessions.

“[The Stanford e-Japan online course] was an exceptional opportunity to assimilate fresh insights on U.S.–Japan relations and produce my own ideas via active discussion,” reflects Anna Oura, a recent alum of the program. “Every week I would excitedly wait for Saturday 13:00, when I would meet my fellow scholars—virtually—and exchange opinions.”

Stanford e-Japan is offered by the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), Stanford University. The Fall 2019 session of Stanford e-Japan is generously supported by the Yanai Tadashi Foundation, Tokyo, Japan.

For more information about Stanford e-Japan, please visit stanfordejapan.org.

To stay informed of news about Stanford e-Japan and SPICE’s other student programs, join our email list or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

SPICE offers separate courses for U.S. high school students. For more information, please visit the Reischauer Scholars Program (on Japan), the Sejong Scholars Program (on Korea), and the China Scholars Program (on China).

Related articles:

• Spring session of Stanford e-Japan online course begins
• Winners announced for the Spring 2018 Stanford e-Japan Award
• Japan Day 2018: Recognizing future leaders in the U.S.–Japan relationship

Since joining SPICE in 2005, my annual calendar has revolved around not spring flowers, caterpillars dangling from trees, and falling leaves around the beautiful Stanford campus, but the schedule of the Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP), Stanford’s online course on Japan and U.S.–Japan relations for U.S. high school students. As the manager and instructor of the RSP, I have had the pleasure (and truly, the honor) of teaching this online course for 14 years. We accept applications beginning in August, outreach efforts ramp up in September and October, and new cohorts of talented U.S. high school students are selected every November. With January comes the updating of the syllabus with new readings, topics, and video lectures, and identifying and inviting guest speakers for the virtual classes. And the highlight of my year—every year—is on February 1, when the new cohort signs into our online learning platform ready to engage in this new community, connect over shared interests, learn from their differences, and to embark upon the RSP journey together.

It is now early June, and the 2019 Reischauer Scholars Program is, unbelievably, soon coming to an end. This year’s RSP journey has led us through explorations of tales of samurai, the modernization of Meiji Japan through the lens of filmmaker Ozu Yasujiro, comparative perspectives on colonial and wartime legacies through textbooks, and lessons on civil liberties as told by someone who was sent to a Japanese American internment camp with his family as a 9-year-old boy.

While this online course has always approached the study of Japan and U.S.–Japan relations with an intense academic rigor befitting Stanford University, I also wanted to offer students access to the personal stories of practitioners who play an active role in Japanese society and the U.S.–Japan relationship that we study. One of the wonderful aspects of teaching online is that for our weekly virtual classroom sessions—where all students meet synchronously using Zoom video conferencing software—we are able to welcome guest speakers to join us from anywhere in the world.

As we explored the U.S.–Japan security relationship this year and the controversies surrounding the presence of U.S. military bases in Okinawa, for example, students met with an Okinawan native who works on the U.S. Air Force Base in Kadena. Learning about how her experiences and perspectives inform her own efforts to enhance U.S.–Japan relations gave the students new insight into the impact of international policy upon individuals and the communities in which they live.

For our module on U.S.–Japan diplomacy we were joined by the Principal Officer of the U.S. Consulate in Sapporo, Rachel Brunette-Chen, who talked about how her interests in connecting the U.S. and Japan have informed her career in the U.S. State Department. RSP students often cite international relations and diplomacy as two high-interest fields for their future undergraduate studies and career aspirations, so they made the most of this opportunity to ask thoughtful questions about careers in Foreign Service. Given the diverse career tracks available in the State Department, students were inspired to learn that they could take their multidisciplinary interests and apply them in an international context for years to come.

As we grappled with the various challenges facing modern Japanese society during the last few weeks of class—including students mired in a test-centric system, the demographic realities of an aging population and declining birth rates, pervasive issues of gender inequality, and minority rights, among others—it was important to gain an understanding of how these issues are being addressed and experienced by real people. Our final guest speaker for the 2019 RSP, a Japanese American entrepreneur and educator living and working in Tokyo, shared his first-hand perspectives on the state of entrepreneurship and innovation in contemporary Japan.

Perhaps the most memorable of the online video conferencing sessions this year were the two joint virtual classes with the students of the Stanford e-Japan Program. Stanford e-Japan is an online course that engages Japanese high school students in the study of U.S. society and U.S.–Japan relations, and is comprised of students from across Japan. The rich, open discussions and friendly international camaraderie fostered during these joint sessions are always a delight to observe. I know that many of my RSP students—and many of the Stanford e-Japan students, as well—will treasure these experiences and relationships for years to come.

In our virtual class on diplomacy, one student asked, “How can we, as high school students, make a real impact on the U.S.–Japan relationship?” “By taking the initiative to be active participants in courses like the Reischauer Scholars Program,” replied Ms. Brunette-Chen, “you are already on your way. In sharing what you learn about Japan, you are also raising awareness about the importance of the U.S.–Japan relationship among your peers and school communities.” Indeed, these 2019 Reischauer Scholars are already on their way. As the spring flowers, dangling caterpillars, and fall leaves continue to come and go in the years ahead, I am eager to see the different ways in which their impact upon U.S.–Japan relations will continue to take shape. Who knows? Perhaps a few will return to the RSP years from now—this time not as students, but as guest speakers who coach and inspire the Reischauer Scholars of the future.

To be notified when the next Reischauer Scholars Program application period opens, join our email list or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

The Reischauer Scholars Program is one of several online courses for high school students offered by SPICE, Stanford University, including the China Scholars Program, the Sejong Scholars Program (on Korea), and the Stanford e-Japan Program.

Related articles:

• Japan Day 2018: Recognizing future leaders in the U.S.–Japan relationship
• SPICE’s Naomi Funahashi receives 2017 Elgin Heinz Teacher Award

The Stanford University Scholars Program for Japanese High School Students or “Stanford e-Japan” is an online course sponsored by the Yanai Tadashi Foundation and the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), Stanford University. This online course teaches Japanese high school students about U.S. society and underscores the importance of U.S.–Japan relations. Through Stanford e-Japan, ambassadors, top scholars, and experts throughout the United States provide web-based lectures and engage Japanese high school students in live discussion sessions called “virtual classes.” Stanford e-Japan is now in its 5th year and 8th session overall.

On March 15, 2019, 29 high school students across Japan were notified of their acceptance to the Spring 2019 Stanford e-Japan Program. The online course kicks off today and runs until August 23, and will include students representing Aichi, Chiba, Fukuoka, Gunma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Kanagawa, Nagano, Niigata, Okinawa, Osaka, Saitama, Shizuoka, Tokyo, and Toyama. In addition to a diverse geographical representation within Japan, the students themselves bring a diverse set of experiences to the program, many having lived overseas in places such as Canada, China, the Philippines, and the United States.

The selected Stanford e-Japan high school students will listen to lectures by renowned experts in the field including Professors Emeritus Daniel Okimoto and Peter Duus, and Professors Katherine Gin Lum, Phillip Lipscy, and Kenji Kushida (Stanford University) on topics such as “Baseball Diplomacy,” “The Atomic Bombings of Japan,” “The Attack on Pearl Harbor,” “Religion in the U.S.,” “U.S.–Japan Relations,” and “Silicon Valley and Entrepreneurship.” Live virtual classes include guest speakers such as Ms. Suzanne Basalla (Toyota Research Institute), Ms. Maiko Cagno (U.S. Consulate, Fukuoka), and Mr. Andrew Ogawa (Quest Venture Partners).

Many Stanford e-Japan students in the current cohort (as well as past ones) have mentioned their desire to study in the United States. The Stanford e-Japan Program equips many students with the motivation and confidence to do so, in addition to many of the skills they will need to study at U.S. universities and colleges. In addition to weekly lectures, assignments, discussion board posts, and virtual classes, the program participants will complete a final research paper on a topic concerning U.S. society or the U.S.–Japan relationship.

“Through this course, we’ve raised Japanese students’ interest in U.S. society and U.S.–Japan relations, which is fantastic,” commented Brown. “I’ve encouraged them to seriously consider undergraduate studies in the United States and to look into opportunities like the Yanai Tadashi Foundation Scholarships.”

Stanford e-Japan is one of several online courses for high school students offered by SPICE, including the Reischauer Scholars Program, the China Scholars Program, and the Sejong Korean Scholars Program. For more information about Stanford e-Japan, please visit stanfordejapan.org.

To be notified when the next Stanford e-Japan application period opens, join our email list or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Related articles:

• Yanai Tadashi Foundation and SPICE/Stanford University
• Winners announced for the Fall 2018 Stanford e-Japan Award
• Spring 2019 Stanford e-Japan online course now accepting applications

SPICE is now accepting applications for the 2019 East Asia Summer Institute for High School Teachers. This free three-day institute is SPICE’s premier professional development opportunity for teachers, combining Stanford’s deep content expertise with SPICE’s award-winning lesson plans.

SPICE/NCTA East Asia Summer Institute for High School Teachers
July 8–10, 2019
Stanford University
Application deadline: May 6, 2019

High school teachers of social studies and language arts are especially encouraged to apply.

Participants will learn from Stanford faculty and other experts about the geography, cultures, politics, economics, history, and literature of East Asia, including a special focus on U.S.–Asia relations and the Asian diaspora in the United States. Teachers will also engage in pedagogy-focused discussions and receive training on several SPICE lesson plans on East Asia, in order to help them translate their new content knowledge to the classroom. Teachers who complete the professional development seminar will be eligible for a $250 stipend and three units of credit from Stanford Continuing Studies, and they will leave Stanford with several extensive SPICE curriculum units in hand.

This professional development opportunity will focus largely on China, Japan, and Korea. For example, last year’s speakers included Kathleen Stephens (former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea), Peter Duus (renowned Stanford scholar of modern Japan), and Clayton Dube (Director of the USC U.S.-China Institute). The institute also featured speakers like author Chun Yu (who grew up in China’s Cultural Revolution) and Joseph Yasutake (who grew up in a Japanese American internment camp), whose rich personal stories brought history to life. SPICE staff led complementary interactive curriculum training sessions on China’s economic development, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, South Korean pop culture, and East Asia’s “history wars.”

“Every speaker added a new perspective to historical and contemporary events,” remarked participant Kimberly Gavin. “[The] lectures enriched my knowledge base of topics, curriculum demonstrations gave me ideas for effective lessons in the classroom, small group discussions led to rich conversations about primary and secondary sources, and teacher sharing introduced me to new websites. There wasn’t anything that was done that wasn’t valuable to me… I told my administrator yesterday that this was the best conference I have been to as a teacher.”

More information is available at https://spice.fsi.stanford.edu/fellowships/ncta_for_high_school_teachers. Interested high school teachers can apply directly at https://forms.gle/Jd3PP8EowXyPkAyX9. The application deadline is May 6.

The 2019 East Asia Summer Institute for High School Teachers at Stanford University is made possible by the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia.

Stay informed of SPICE news by joining our email list or following us on Facebook and Twitter.

• The Freeman Foundation: Supporting the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia for 20 Years
• Institute highlights the teaching of Asia and the Asian-American experience