Japanese Studies in the
United States:
Continuities and Opportunities
Patricia G. Steinhoff
What Has Changed in 2005?
Category
1989
1995
2005
Japan Specialists
1,224
1,552
1,284
412
803
565
108
(286)
247
(440)
184
(348)
Doctoral candidates
Programs
What is Left?
 Solid
core of committed Japan specialists
 Steady supply of new doctoral candidates
 Existing programs dramatically stronger





More faculty
More disciplines
More staff
More courses
More complex organizations
Japanese Studies Programs

Institutions with Japanese Studies programs 184

Japan specialist staff at institutions

Programs with more than 12 staff

Courses concerning Japan
5,374

Japanese language courses (37%)
1,757

Japanese Studies courses
3,617

Japanese libraries with > 40,000 volumes
1,652
42
30
Change at Two Levels
 Societal



and Global Changes
Technological Change now Pervasive
New Resources Based on Technology
Personal, Direct Access to Resources
 Changes



Within Japanese Studies
Generational Shift
Increased Japanese Language Skills
Intellectual Paradigm Shift
Uses of Computer, 1995 & 2005
Do not use computer
9.0
1.2
English wordprocessing
81.9
93.4
Japanese on dedicated word processor
10.3
7.2
Japanese wordprocessing
28.5
60.8
e-mail communication
39.4
96.0
Access English databases from US sources
28.9
87.4
Access English databases from Japanese sources
8.0
61.7
Access Japanese databases from US sources
5.3
48.2
Access Japanese databases from Japanese source
3.5
59.9
Access online library catalogs
38.9
86.4
Quantitative data analysis
10.6
22.0
Store personal research data, English
57.4
80.5
Store personal research data, Japanese
16.1
47.5
New Uses of Computer, 2005
Access English websites
--
88.0
Access Japanese websites
--
76.3
Access English news
--
74.9
Access Japanese news
--
60.8
Access online discussion groups
--
48.2
Access online academic journals
--
69.3
Share or transmit image or sound files
--
44.0
Listen to music or watch video or film
--
27.8
Play online games in English
--
3.7
Play online games in Japanese
--
1.0
Create English spreadsheets or databases
--
41.2
Create Japanese spreadsheets or databases
--
13.5
Create and maintain my own website
--
22.5
Produce teaching materials about Japan
--
55.5
Use of Japanese Databases
Have Used in Japan
41.8%
Have Used in US
37.8%
Have Not Used, Would Like to Use
20.0%
Cost too High or No Access
No Interest
3.9%
18.7%
Source of Research Materials
Personal Collection
90.2%
Institution’s Collection
78.9%
Other Institution’s Collection
78.7%
Data Respondent Collected
48.2%
Internet Resources
43.3%
ILL or Document Delivery
37.3%
Government Materials
34.9%
Private Collections
25.7%
Ordered Online
19.0%
Private or Commercial Databases
13.3%
Must Read to Keep Up
Japanese Language Material
1995
2005
Books
Journal Articles
Government Documents
Newspapers and Magazines
62.4
57.8
21.2
43.4
71.9
68.4
27.9
56.6
Visual Materials
Online News
Online Discussion
15.7
---
43.1
40.0
14.0
Online Journals
Quantitative Data
Technical Reports
-25.8
16.6
24.2
19.9
10.6
Three Paradigms
Economic
Competition
Language and Area Studies
Cultural Studies
Language and Area Studies
 Study
Japanese Language
 Plus Japan through various disciplines
 Includes humanities and social sciences
 Places Japan specialists in disciplines
Economic Competition Paradigm





Japan as #1vis-a-vis the US
Japanese as economically useful
New forms of knowledge needed
New forms of delivery required
Social sciences and professions
Economic
Competition
Language and Area Studies
Cultural Studies Paradigm

Blurs disciplinary lines
 Subcultures, popular culture as key themes
 Research models from humanities
 De-emphasizes social science disciplines
Economic Competition
Language and Area Studies
Cultural Studies
Implications for Japanese Libraries
 Societal



and Global Changes
Direct access to information anywhere
Problem of isolated scholar access decreases
Librarians as information specialists
 Changes


within Japanese Studies
Broader demand for Japanese materials
Demand for new types of materials