KANSAI GAIDAI UNIVERSITY JAPAN

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All the courses in the Asian Studies Program have their own unique contents and approach. This section features some of those special aspects you will find in our academic program.ACADEMIC SPOTLIGHTStephen A. Zurcher is an interna-tional businessman turned Professor in 2011. With business experience in Asia, the USA and Europe through-out a 25 year career spanning Fortune 500 companies to apartment-based startups, he brings a real-world perspective to his classes in interna-tional business. Recently appointed Dean of the Asian Studies Program, he leads a successful internship program for foreign students at Kansai Gaidai University. He is also the VP of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan for the Kansai region, which keeps him in touch with CEOs and executives, as well as up to date on the latest business trends in Japan.Stephen A. Zurcher, Professor(Management and Entrepreneurship)M.B.A., University of Hawaii Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University History should start as a mystery. Such is the basic belief that informs all of David Eason’s courses. In practice this means teaching Japanese history not as a predeter-mined checklist of people, places, and events to be committed to memory, but instead presenting students with an assortment of translated primary sources and asking them to work creatively and deductively in analyzing and interpreting these fascinating texts. Thus, rather than demand rote memorization, students are encouraged to draw consistently upon their own innate curiosity in order to make Japan’s history an exploration of materials both unexpected and new. David Eason, Associate Professor(History)M.A., University of California, Los AngelesPh.D., University of California, Los AngelesMark S. Cogan draws on his professional experiences working with the United Nations in Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East to provide interdisciplinary courses on human rights, international development, and democratization in Asia. His classes combine recent scholarship, real-world case studies and engaging classroom discussions to offer students a unique and challenging experience. Students considering careers with humanitarian aid organizations, non-profits, or foreign service will find Professor Cogan's courses particularly insightful.Mark S. Cogan, Assistant Professor(Peace and Conflict Studies)M.A., Norwich UniversityM.A., European UniversityJonson Porteux’s primary work is focused on exploring and explaining the causes and consequences of violence and democratization, and more generally, social cooperation, through the use of empirical evidence from East Asia. Professor Porteux’s courses in turn focus little on the rote memorization of facts, and instead, are concerned with the acquisition of generalizable tools for a dynamic understanding of interest-ing and pertinent questions in the broad fields of the social sciences. His classes include International Political Economy, and Japanese Politics and Public Policy.Jonson Porteux, Assistant Professor(Political Science)Ph.D., University of MichiganLinda A. Bohaker's multi-disciplinary experience in business administration and Japanese history form the content of her courses, although it is her teaching philosophy that moves the courses from simply transmitting knowledge to creating significant learning experiences for the students. Her courses are designed to show the connection between knowledge, application and reflection, and require students to ask questions, make connections, apply theories, and defend their analysis. Her courses require students to go deeper, to not only understand the "what" but, more importantly, the "why" and "how" that underlie the strategic actions of companies or the motives and decisions of Japanese leaders throughout history.Linda A. Bohaker, Professor(Business/Management & Japanese History)M.A.L.D., Tufts UniversityM.A., Washington UniversityFor more than three decades, Yoshiko Shikaura has dedicated her time to teaching Japanese to international students studying in Japan. Many of her students have come back to Japan to work on programs such as JET or in educational, business, and diplomatic fields after mastering the Japanese language proficiency examination. Yoshiko’s teaching method is validated by her promising Teaching Assistants, many of whom have become university professors in Japanese. Students also have the opportunity to talk with and learn from her Japanese graduate students who are taking her Japanese Language Teaching courses.Yoshiko Shikaura, Professor(Japanese Language)M.A., Tsuda College M.A., Michigan State University32