Announcing the 2019 Japan Studies Institute (JSI) Program

Join your colleagues from both two and four year institutions around the country for a two-week intensive Summer Institute focused on the study of modern Japan. The Japan Studies Institute (JSI) allows faculty to learn from scholars, business leaders, artists and journalists about Japanese civilization, history, language, business and education.

The Japan Studies Institute (JSI) offers college and university faculty members without prior experience in Japanese studies to learn from scholars, business leaders, artists and journalists about Japan, both past and present. The institute encourages participants to develop strategies for incorporating Japanese studies into courses on their campuses. The Institute involves two weeks of intensive seminars, lectures, readings, films, and cultural activities related to Japanese history, culture, literature, government, business, language and education. Previous programs have included topics as diverse as wartime and occupation Japan, social relations and the changing role of women in Japan, Japanese foreign policy and regional relations, classical music, ikebana, calligraphy, introductory Japanese, Japanese film in the classroom, and philosophical and religious traditions in Japan. Classes are held Monday through Friday, from morning until late afternoon. The formal program is complemented by a number of off-campus and evening activities. Institute faculty will include scholars, representatives from the local Japanese community, artists, journalists, and government officials.

The two week residential program is held on the San Diego State University campus. JSI Fellowships are available to cover most of the costs of the Institute for each participant. While attending the program, participants are housed in shared suites (separate bedrooms, common living area) in a dormitory on the university campus. Because of the intensive nature of the program, families cannot be accommodated and are not permitted to stay in the dormitory.  

Fellowships and Program Costs

• Participants: Selected participants will be required to pay:
  - a non-refundable registration fee: $695 (for participants from AASCU-member institutions) and $895 (for participants from non-AASCU member institutions).
  
  
• Program: Fellowships, provided for all participants, cover most of the following costs:
  - administrative and academic expenses
  - two weeks of campus housing
  - $500 stipend for meals and other expenses 
  - maximum reimbursement of $700 for transportation 

Sponsors

The JSI Institute and Fellowships are made possible by a generous endowment from the Nippon Foundation. The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) manages and administers the JSI program; San Diego State University provides the academic program and facilities.

Participants

Participants must be full-time faculty or administrators at two or four-year academic institutions with the potential to impact undergraduate education and have no prior training or professional experience in Japanese studies.

 Candidate Selection Process and Timeline:

• Application Deadline - Rolling application through February 2019
  
• AASCU will make the final selections and notify final candidates by mid-March 
• Final candidates upon being notified MUST a letter of their acceptance, along with payment of registration fee to AASCU by the end of March
• AASCU will provide relevant reading materials (Institute textbooks, JSI Participant Guide and the JSI program to the candidates) by end of March 
• JSI Fellows arrive at the SDSU campus on June 3, 2019
• The program officially ends on June 16, 2019