IMAGES OF JAPAN THROUGH TIME AND SPACE, AND NOW AND HERE

Japan is one of the best known and most stereotyped countries in Asia. Was it always so? The lecture will give an overview of how images about Japan were formed in Europe, with a particular focus on Russia, and examine the modern-day stereotypes and perceptions of Japan. Following this, the lecture will present findings of a research project that explored Malaysian university students? mental images of Japan. It will conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings on the teaching of Japanese language and culture.

The presenters are Dr. Larisa Nikitina, a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, and Dr. Rohayati Paidi, a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Arts and Social Science, University of Malaya.

Click here to download e-flyer.

For more information, please contact: Mdm. Nor Ishah at 03-7967 5631.

PRESENTERS

Dr. Larisa Nikitina is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University of Malaya. Her research interests include explorations of mental images that foreign language learners hold about target language countries and how such images might inform the language pedagogy. Initially, her research was focused on European countries and cultures; it has now expanded to include Japan and ther countries in the Asian region. She has published extensively on the topic of country stereotypes held by language learners.

Dr. Rohayati Paidi is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya. Her research interests include the change and continuity in Japanese culture and society with a focus on Japanese popular culture and subculture abroad. She teaches courses on Japanese culture, Japanese society and Japanese language. Her recent publications include Cosplay di Malaysia: Transmisi dan Integrasi Trait Subbudaya Jepun (2018) and Homogeneity, Diversity and Multiculturalism in Japan (2018).