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The Michitoshi Soga Japan Center

Building Bridges and Creating Opportunities

Mission Statement:

The Soga Japan Center at Western Michigan University commits itself to making fundamental advances in our knowledge of Japanese history, culture, business, science and technology. In so doing, it serves as a generative force in international education.

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Soga Japan Center Top Story

This fall, two Western Michigan University students will be continuing their college studies at WMU-partner institutions in Tokyo and Berlin on full-ride scholarships for the 2008-09 academic year.

Both scholarships are valued at nearly $20,000 and cover two semesters of study, including tuition, room and board, and some personal expenses. Selection is based on academic achievement and language proficiency and made by a WMU jury that includes faculty members as well as staff members from the Haenicke Institute for Global Education.

Soga Japan Center Feature Events
SJC Speaker Series: Japan's Postwar Politics of Food Dr. Kushner teaches Japanese history in the Faculty of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge and has a PhD from Princeton University. He worked in the US Department of State as a political officer in East Asian affairs. He has written on wartime Japanese and Chinese propaganda, Japanese media, Asian comedy and is now penning a history of Sino-Japan relations through food and politics. Presentations by candidates for Comparative Religion position in Chinese Religions(PDF) Community, bureaucracy and salvation in medieval Daoist periodic ritual - Presented by Dr. Ian Chapman on Tues, Mar 25 How a Neighing Horse Once Became a Silkworm God: The Chinese Metamorphosis of an Indian Buddhist Patriarch - Presented by Stuart Young on Wed, Apr 2 Reconstructing the Concept of Illness in Warring States China: The Case of the Baoshan Divinatory and Sacrificial Records - Presented by Jue Guo on Wed, Apr 9

Soga Japan Center News Briefs
Weinreich named AGHE fellow Dr. Donna Weinreich, professor of social work, has recently been named a fellow of the Association of Gerontology in Higher Education. She is just one of seven specialists in gerontology to be tapped for the honor that recognizes achievement in the areas of teaching, research and scholarship at AGHE-member institutions. Soga Japan Center lands new office at Haenicke Institute SJC director named a Fulbright Fellow The Soga Japan Center recently moved into a new office at the Haenicke Institute, which will provide a private work space for the director, as well as library space for Japan-related materials such as books, videos, and magazines. The new location in the Haenicke Institute means the Center will be better able to tap into the expertise and support of Institute staff and collaborate on Institute projects. Dr. Stephen Covell, director of the Soga Japan Center and Mary Meader Professor of Comparative Religion, has been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship! Dr. Covell’s fellowship will fund research in Japan during summer 2009 and summer 2010. Dr. Covell’s research project- “Tendai’s Flying Head Priest: Crossing Boundaries to Reshape Contemporary Japanese Religion”-focuses on the activities of Yamada Etai, a leading Buddhist priest in postwar Japan. In particular, Dr. Covell will conduct research into Yamada’s work with new religious movements, the Vatican, and the Chinese Buddhist Association. Congratulations, Dr. Covell, for this richly deserved award!

Weinreich named AGHE fellow

Dr. Donna Weinreich, professor of social work, has recently been named a fellow of the Association of Gerontology in Higher Education. She is just one of seven specialists in gerontology to be tapped for the honor that recognizes achievement in the areas of teaching, research and scholarship at AGHE-member institutions.

Soga Japan Center lands new office at Haenicke Institute

SJC director named a Fulbright Fellow

The Soga Japan Center recently moved into a new office at the Haenicke Institute, which will provide a private work space for the director, as well as library space for Japan-related materials such as books, videos, and magazines. The new location in the Haenicke Institute means the Center will be better able to tap into the expertise and support of Institute staff and collaborate on Institute projects.

Dr. Stephen Covell, director of the Soga Japan Center and Mary Meader Professor of Comparative Religion, has been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship! Dr. Covell’s fellowship will fund research in Japan during summer 2009 and summer 2010. Dr. Covell’s research project- “Tendai’s Flying Head Priest: Crossing Boundaries to Reshape Contemporary Japanese Religion”-focuses on the activities of Yamada Etai, a leading Buddhist priest in postwar Japan. In particular, Dr. Covell will conduct research into Yamada’s work with new religious movements, the Vatican, and the Chinese Buddhist Association. Congratulations, Dr. Covell, for this richly deserved award!

Soga Japan Center News
Students get $20,000 overseas study scholarships Japanese educators examine WMU's student success PEN Translation Fund Presentations by candidates for Comparative Religion SJC Speaker Series: Japan's Postwar Politics of Food