Growing a North Carolina Classical Japanese Network through Distance Education Grant uri icon

abstract

  • East Carolina University (ECU) proposes to develop a classical Japanese (kobun ?? or bungo ??) network by establishing a hybrid-distance education (hybrid-DE) course targeting students at ECU, Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), and North Carolina State University (NCSU). Low demand at individual campuses has left classical Japanese studies irregular or non-existent. A two-semester hybrid-DE course focusing on reading classical texts and catering to students at campuses in NC?s Research Triangle area will achieve enrollment adequate for a viable program. If successful, the program could expand to University of North Carolina campuses in Greensboro (UNC-G), Charlotte (UNC-C), Asheville (UNC-A), and Wilmington (UNC-W). Since 2007, ECU Professor John Tucker has pioneered instruction of classical Japanese at Duke as a visiting instructor. UNC-CH students enroll occasionally, but the demands of weekly transportation make their participation cumbersome. The hybrid strategy, combining face-to-face with DE instruction, will empower classical Japanese studies by overcoming low enrollments on individual campuses and bypassing transportation problems resulting from reliance on face-to-face instruction. In spring 2015, the project will launch a non-credit, experimental ?kobun workshop,? using DE resources based at ECU targeting students at ECU, Duke, and UNC-CH. During summer 2015, a DE curriculum for two semesters of classical, one kobun and one kanbun, will be developed for 2015-2016. The first semester will be taught, for credit, in fall 2015. The long-term outcome will be enriched classical Japanese studies at participating North Carolina universities.

date/time interval

  • January 2015 - December 2015