So, what we gonna do tonight Brain?
Jan. 24th, 2006 01:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
azuriteOkay, so I just got back from a short workshop on campus about one of the school's scholarships, called the Presidential Scholarship. Sounds fancy, huh? Well, it kind of is. $5000 scholarship, textbook discount, the works. I attended the workshop because it was mandatory, but according to the woman in charge, few people have attended so far, and there's only two more planned sessions left. I was one of the only two there, and the other guy was already a Presidential Scholar, so I don't know if he was applying again, or just there to talk to me about what the application process was like.
In any case, you don't get that kind of moola without proving you deserve it. The catch-22 for this one is that you have to work on a project for an entire (award) year with a faculty mentor, show significant progress throughout the semester, and have a project to present at the end of the year.
Now, while I would love to get this scholarship regardless of if I make it into Study Abroad or not, the primary reason why I'm looking is because of the high costs of Study Abroad. $5000 would offset a LOT of my concerns, especially if it was scholarship money and not a loan. Since Study Abroad through the IP counts as residential units and is THROUGH the CSU program, I could feasibly be awarded that money and do a project off-campus.
Obviously, the thing is that the application, complete with a project proposal, is due by mid-February, just after the semester starts. The scholarship is geared toward students that already have an established relationship with their teachers, and while I do know my journalism professor (Salido) pretty well, I'm not taking her courses this semester, so unless I approach her and ask her if I can work with her on something (journalism from abroad?) it would be pretty silly. So I'm leaning toward Japanese-- either Takase-sensei from Japanese 102/C/L, whom I've known for a semester already, or Hirota-sensei, who I will have for the first time this semester, but I have interacted with before. She's also the department chair of Japanese at CSUN, plus the JET program representative for LA. Working with her would be fabulous.
But I need to have a project idea already in mind for whatever professor I approach. Here's the hard part. What could I possibly do? It has to be something that relates to a field I'm interested in and passionate about; the professor has to be related to said field (that is, I can't ask Professor Hirota to have anything to do with a journalism project; she's a Japanese teacher). I was thinking, if I do get into Study Abroad and I'm in Japan, why not apply it to what I'm going to learn in Japanese and Women Writers of Asia this semester?
Baba's always been pressuring me to write The Next Great American Novel, which in her mind is the next great Harlequin Romance. I don't think so. But I could write non-fiction about Japan. But WHAT about Japan? Even from the anime or manga perspective, what hasn't been done before? What could I only do with a good sum of money (to take me to Japan, allow me to go places and meet people) and would somehow be significant not just to myself, but to the community somehow? I don't mean a volunteer project or anything like that (a sociological study of Japan sounds cool, but alas, I'm not in sociology anymore :P). I mean something that would be USEFUL to someone.
For those of you that read books like Gilles Poitras' "The Anime Companion" or Patrick Macias' "Crusin' the Anime City" what is missing? What more do you want to know about Japan, whether you plan on going there or not? Or would you rather have a non-fiction account of someone's experiences in Japan? Or perhaps I could try doing a study on authors in Japan, like my favorite author Banana Yoshimoto (who happens to be acquainted with the author of Kamikaze Girls) or manga-ka... like I could ever get an interview with them. But I would TRY!
So I just finished talking with Baba and Grandpa, and they seem to agree that I could combine all my interests --journalism, Japanese language and culture, and writing-- by writing a book on the women writers of Japan. Specifically, book authors like Banana Yoshimoto, unlikely authors like geisha and other biographers, and manga-ka who come up with their own stories, like Naoko Takeuchi, Ai Yazawa, and so forth.
How are they perceived by Japanese society? When they go to publish a manuscript or a manga, are they as well-received as men? If not, why not? Are women encouraged to write, to express their thoughts and feelings? What got them interested in telling the stories that they have, and how do they feel about how they are recognized nationally and internationally? J.K. Rowling is recognized by tabloid photographers whenever she goes to sit at a café and write Harry Potter-- does the same hold true for Banana Yoshimoto and other authors? Are they ever asked to do book signings?
I could feasibly do this project with Professor Hirota if she's willing (and not on the scholarship review panel) regardless of if I'm in California or in Japan. If in Japan, I would apply my Japanese language skills learned from Professor Takase to interview (skills learned from Journalism) authors, publishers, manga-ka, and my professors at Waseda University. If I'm in California, I could do an immense amount of research and try to contact U.S.-based female Japanese authors, whether they have ever lived in Japan or published in Japanese (at least partial Japanese heritage).
A lot of this depends on the professor I work with and if I get accepted into Study Abroad. Both the scholarship and Study Abroad announce their results at the same time, and I certainly won't say not to a $5000 scholarship even if I don't get accepted into Japan. But I want to believe I will, even if I don't know how I'd cope with being away from the life that I've known for nearly 21 years.
But damned if you do, damned if you don't. I'd rather "do" and know that I tried.
So am I talking out of my ear here, or do I have some interesting ideas? I'd like some feedback and possibly more ideas if you have them. :) You could be my saving grace.
In any case, you don't get that kind of moola without proving you deserve it. The catch-22 for this one is that you have to work on a project for an entire (award) year with a faculty mentor, show significant progress throughout the semester, and have a project to present at the end of the year.
Now, while I would love to get this scholarship regardless of if I make it into Study Abroad or not, the primary reason why I'm looking is because of the high costs of Study Abroad. $5000 would offset a LOT of my concerns, especially if it was scholarship money and not a loan. Since Study Abroad through the IP counts as residential units and is THROUGH the CSU program, I could feasibly be awarded that money and do a project off-campus.
Obviously, the thing is that the application, complete with a project proposal, is due by mid-February, just after the semester starts. The scholarship is geared toward students that already have an established relationship with their teachers, and while I do know my journalism professor (Salido) pretty well, I'm not taking her courses this semester, so unless I approach her and ask her if I can work with her on something (journalism from abroad?) it would be pretty silly. So I'm leaning toward Japanese-- either Takase-sensei from Japanese 102/C/L, whom I've known for a semester already, or Hirota-sensei, who I will have for the first time this semester, but I have interacted with before. She's also the department chair of Japanese at CSUN, plus the JET program representative for LA. Working with her would be fabulous.
But I need to have a project idea already in mind for whatever professor I approach. Here's the hard part. What could I possibly do? It has to be something that relates to a field I'm interested in and passionate about; the professor has to be related to said field (that is, I can't ask Professor Hirota to have anything to do with a journalism project; she's a Japanese teacher). I was thinking, if I do get into Study Abroad and I'm in Japan, why not apply it to what I'm going to learn in Japanese and Women Writers of Asia this semester?
Baba's always been pressuring me to write The Next Great American Novel, which in her mind is the next great Harlequin Romance. I don't think so. But I could write non-fiction about Japan. But WHAT about Japan? Even from the anime or manga perspective, what hasn't been done before? What could I only do with a good sum of money (to take me to Japan, allow me to go places and meet people) and would somehow be significant not just to myself, but to the community somehow? I don't mean a volunteer project or anything like that (a sociological study of Japan sounds cool, but alas, I'm not in sociology anymore :P). I mean something that would be USEFUL to someone.
For those of you that read books like Gilles Poitras' "The Anime Companion" or Patrick Macias' "Crusin' the Anime City" what is missing? What more do you want to know about Japan, whether you plan on going there or not? Or would you rather have a non-fiction account of someone's experiences in Japan? Or perhaps I could try doing a study on authors in Japan, like my favorite author Banana Yoshimoto (who happens to be acquainted with the author of Kamikaze Girls) or manga-ka... like I could ever get an interview with them. But I would TRY!
So I just finished talking with Baba and Grandpa, and they seem to agree that I could combine all my interests --journalism, Japanese language and culture, and writing-- by writing a book on the women writers of Japan. Specifically, book authors like Banana Yoshimoto, unlikely authors like geisha and other biographers, and manga-ka who come up with their own stories, like Naoko Takeuchi, Ai Yazawa, and so forth.
How are they perceived by Japanese society? When they go to publish a manuscript or a manga, are they as well-received as men? If not, why not? Are women encouraged to write, to express their thoughts and feelings? What got them interested in telling the stories that they have, and how do they feel about how they are recognized nationally and internationally? J.K. Rowling is recognized by tabloid photographers whenever she goes to sit at a café and write Harry Potter-- does the same hold true for Banana Yoshimoto and other authors? Are they ever asked to do book signings?
I could feasibly do this project with Professor Hirota if she's willing (and not on the scholarship review panel) regardless of if I'm in California or in Japan. If in Japan, I would apply my Japanese language skills learned from Professor Takase to interview (skills learned from Journalism) authors, publishers, manga-ka, and my professors at Waseda University. If I'm in California, I could do an immense amount of research and try to contact U.S.-based female Japanese authors, whether they have ever lived in Japan or published in Japanese (at least partial Japanese heritage).
A lot of this depends on the professor I work with and if I get accepted into Study Abroad. Both the scholarship and Study Abroad announce their results at the same time, and I certainly won't say not to a $5000 scholarship even if I don't get accepted into Japan. But I want to believe I will, even if I don't know how I'd cope with being away from the life that I've known for nearly 21 years.
But damned if you do, damned if you don't. I'd rather "do" and know that I tried.
So am I talking out of my ear here, or do I have some interesting ideas? I'd like some feedback and possibly more ideas if you have them. :) You could be my saving grace.
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no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 09:47 pm (UTC)Poor Heero!
no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 11:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-25 02:37 am (UTC)^_~
I think you should do eet. (The book on Japanese women writers). It's not something a lot of people think about. And this way you'll be able to do a bit of a cultural/social/historical/and literary combined study as you said. You could even have a subchapter ON mangaka . . . or at least a footnote - perhaps even a comparitive study on straight up literary writers and manga artists.
No matter what - even if it never gets published, even if you never finish, it would be a great undertaking.