As a Ph.D. candidate studying Japanese art history, the depth and rigor of my research relies heavily on robust Japanese language abilities. With support from the Center for Japanese Studies at UC Berkeley, I was able to improve my language skills by completing the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies Summer Course in Yokohama in 2018. The language skills I acquired during the summer advanced my research capacities using Japanese sources and enabled me to complete my MA thesis in 2019. This year, CJS is supporting my enrollment in the 10-month Program at the IUC. This unmatched Japanese language instruction—which includes intensive training in formal spoken Japanese and close reading of primary sources—is preparing me to conduct field research on my dissertation, which examines the lacquer tree forest ecologies of Iwate Prefecture in tandem with their material linkages to lacquerware and lacquered architecture. I am grateful for the continuous support of CJS, which has equipped me with the language abilities necessary to conduct this interdisciplinary research in the Japanese language at the doctoral level.
- Joel Thielen
Department of the History of Art
CJS Continuing Student Fellowship (Japanese Language Study)