Chicago, Fukushima, and the Nuclear Crisis presented by Norma Field at DePaul University

DePaul University’s Department of Modern Languages and Japanese Studies Program, in collaboration with the Office of Language and Cultural Education, Chicago Public Schools, presents the Teaching Japan for K-12 series: Explore the Pedagogical Possibilities. We invite you to attend our Thursday, May 24, 2012 workshop entitled “Chicago, Fukushima, the Nuclear Crisis” with Norma Field (The University of Chicago). Dinner will be provided.

Chicago, Fukushima, and the Nuclear Crisis

Many people have remarked on the irony that nuclear disaster should have struck Japan, which had already suffered the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In this workshop, we will consider the history that led to this situation, a history that begins here in Chicago. We will consider similarities and differences between the atomic bombings and the nuclear power plant disaster as a way of approaching the impossible “choices” confronting the people of Fukushima today. We will conclude by returning to Illinois, the state with the greatest number of nuclear power plants in the U.S., to acquaint ourselves with nuclear issues close to home.

A short film, slides, and suggestions about sources will be part of the workshop.

Norma Field has taught Japanese literature and culture in the Department of East Asian Languages & Civilizations at the University of Chicago. She is the author of In the Realm of a Dying Emperor, a study of Japan at the time of the death of Emperor Hirohito. She has been working on the literature of the 1920s and 30s that aimed for revolutionary change. The atomic bomb and nuclear power have been a teaching interest over the past decade.

Date: Thursday, May 24, 2012

Place: DePaul University, Arts and Letter Hall (2315 N. Kenmore) room 415

Schedule:

6:00-6:30 Registration

6:30-8:00 Chicago, Fukushima, and the Nuclear Crisis (Norma Field)

8:00-8:15 Evaluations & CPDUs

Requirements include pre-registration (no fee) and participation in the session as well as the evaluation session. For preregistration, please contact Miho Matsugu at mmatsugu@depaul.edu.

The event will be conducted as a workshop, and is limited to 15 participants.

The Teaching Japan for K-12 series provides an opportunity to explore the pedagogical possibilities of Japan as a subject for K-12 students in Chicago and Illinois. Japan and its culture, both traditional and hyper-modern — manga, animation, videogames, film, literature, theater, architecture, food, music, fashion — are woven into the everyday lives of our children and young students here in the Midwest. How can we teach about Japan in our classrooms? How can we approach Japan not just as a showcase of fascinating products but as a vehicle for our K-12 curriculum? The workshop is open to teachers of any subject including Japanese language, literacy, social studies, art and music. We welcome non-CPS teachers and non-teachers who are interested in the topic.

This series is made possible by Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Chicago (JCCC) Foundation’s Japanese Language Education Grant.