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23GSICCS | Round Table TalkI. Comparative and Interdisciplinary StudiesLaw: Thank you for coming today to talk about your experiences at GSICCS. We ought to start with academics. Ms. Liu, you’re in Language and Communication. Could you tell us about your speci c research eld? Liu: I work in the eld of phonology and phonetics, particularly the tonal features of the Japanese language. I am interested in analyzing the varying dif culties that different groups of non-Japanese learners of the language face. To do that I need a lot of subjects to work with -- Japanese and Chinese native speakers, of course, but also subjects from other language backgrounds. GSICCS is a great environment for such research! Law: Ms. Tith, what about your classes and research project in Society and Communication? Tith: I take classes within GSICCS and in other social science graduate schools to nd a framework of ideas to support my eld of interest, promoting human rights. Law: Do the classes tend to take the form of lectures or are they mainly discussion-based? Tith: Although the professor sets up the debate, in class I interact with students from China, Europe, Southeast Asia...so we see many political views. Talking about political issues, especially history, is not about trying to raise discord, but rather coming to a shared understanding of what the real causes were and what we should do to prevent con ict and to build friendships. Law: Ms. Bhola, what about your work within the area of Culture and Communication? Bhola: My doctoral research is about Japanese people who love Caribbean culture, music, and dance. I never expected to nd them here, although back in Grenada, the small Caribbean island where I grew up, I learned about Japanese popular music and sub-cultures. When I was a Master’s student, I wanted to understand how people who aren’t from Japan integrate themselves into such small communities. Then I found that cultural in uence was owing in the opposite direction also, and that became the subject of my doctoral dissertation. II. Unity in Diversity in the “Zemi”Law: I believe that the Japanese term “zemi” came from the German word “seminar” during the Meiji Period, when Western-style institutions of higher education were introduced. Obviously seminars exist in other places, but the “zemi” is peculiar to the Japanese university. Could you tell us a little about your own seminars? Round Table TalkFrom left to right: Ms. Liu, Ms. Tith, Ms. Bhola, Dr. Law

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