I entered into GSAPS in the fall of 2010. On the first day of orientation in search of my professor's office I was looking at a map layout of the floor when a young American, a fellow newbie, came up to me and asked what I was doing. When I told him that I was in search of my professor's office he said "I think they are through those doors." I replied, "Are you sure? Those doors could be shut for a reason. What if the area is restricted? " With a straight face he retorted, "What? Are you afraid of doors of something? " and walked away leaving me incredulous and disgusted. On the first day of class feeling brave and confident in my language skills, I chose a class on International Security conducted in Japanese. When the professor called on me to explain Waltz's third level of analysis as a review for everyone, I gave her an answer littered with so many 'ahhs,' eehhs,' and uncomfortable short pauses, that she had to call on another person for a more coherent explanation. I began to believe that it would take me the entire two years of graduate school to redeem the reputation I created for myself in the first two days.
But one quickly learns that at GSAPS the paths that seemingly have a sole finality are ones we rarely come across. Today, that American is one of my best friends at school. That professor who I embarrassed myself in front of on the first day is now my zemi professor whom I deeply respect and recently used as a reference for a job application. It was from her that I learned that as academics we belong to a family of learners and in this family we have a responsibility to pursue the truth, find the explanations, and introduce new ideas into the framework constructed by our predecessors. GSAPS has given me that family. When I experience self-doubt and need to be reaffirmed of my answer, when I need to be challenged, or a person to check me and tell me to go back to the drawing board, I turn to the many students whose knowledge and experience exceed my own. But the GSAPS family extends beyond just academics. Whether it be drinks at a friends house because none of us can afford another 4000 yen nomikai, barbeques on the Tamagawa river, trips to onsens, what gives GSAPS its spirit are the students that make it feel like home away from home.
What GSAPS taught me is that no matter how small and humbled we may sometimes feel, we all posses the ability to contribute in some way to humanity and academia. When we stare into each other's haggard faces during finals month, when we congratulate one another when its allover, we are each other's motivation and reminder that to serve as a building block or a stepping stone for a discovery that can better mankind, comes with little recognition but is one of the greatest legacies one can leave behind.
MA Program 2009 September
KOBASHIGAWA, Nora Rika
アジア太平洋研究科の特徴は、なんといってもその多様性でしょう。留学生の豊富な研究棟はまさにアジア地域の縮図。同じ日本人学生同士であっても、年齢や政治思想、得意言語まで各々のバックグラウンドは大きく異なります。例えば私の場合、中国を研究対象としているためゼミ生は大半が中国人留学生です。ゼミの場では、彼らから普段耳にすることのない情報を得たり、同じ日本人学生から想像もしなかった考え方を教わることは頻繁にあります。日本の常識が通用しないことも多く、学び研究する者として一歩離れた場所から物事を見つめることができる最高の環境だと思います。ただしそれ故に、自ら欲するものを求めていかないと、何も得られないのも事実。大学側のサポートも欲しいものが見えていてこそのものです。このような環境を上手く利用し、溢れるバイタリティで新たな多様性を生み出せる方、ぜひとも本研究科の門戸を叩いてみてください。
MA Program 2010 April
TAGAI, Isao
天児ゼミでは、特に「中国の中央－地方関係」に関心を持って研究を進めています。ゼミでは、毎回2人の発表者による発表とその内容に関する議論が、日本語・英語・中国語を交えて行われています。それぞれの学生の関心の範囲は多角的ですが、それに対する先生のフィードバックも適切で、毎回大きな刺激を受けています。
また、ゼミ以外で様々な分野・国籍の学生と交流する機会もあります。彼らとの議論の中で、鋭い意見や新しい視点など多くの学問的刺激を受けています。これは国際的な気風をもち、学際的な研究を行うアジア太平洋研究科だからこそ得られるものです。
知識の習得に加え、多様な国籍・年齢などのバックグラウンドをもつ人々との交流から様々な経験を与えてくれる「アジ太」は、今後、国際社会での活躍を希望する私にとって、日々成長の機会を与えてくれる場所であると確信しています。課題・論文作成などに追われながらも、意識の高い友人に囲まれ、夢に向かって格闘する日々は大変充実したものです。
MA Program 2010 April
TOIKE, Kaitaro
