Seminar Introduction
ABOUT RESEARCH
Research Field
French literature, French language, French culture
Research Policy
In the first and second years, students are taught in small classes with a curriculum that organically combines grammar, reading, composition, grammar exercises, pronunciation practice, and conversation, and Japanese and French teaching staff are in charge of the right positions. This allows students to acquire basic language skills comprehensively. In parallel with this, there are courses available to acquire basic knowledge about French culture, including French literature and visual culture, as well as French society and history.
From the second, third and fourth years, in order to build on these foundations and deepen their knowledge, numerous seminars and special lectures are offered in language, literature, linguistics, and culture and society, and students are free to choose and study the three fields of literature, language and culture.
SEMINAR LIST Research themes and contents
We will introduce the research themes and contents of the seminars in Department of French Language and Literature.
French literature
Takeshi Kubota
Researcher Information
Field of expertise: 16th century literature
Seminar research theme: Poetry and culture of the French Middle Ages and Renaissance
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▼Profile
Born in Rishiri Island, Hokkaido. Spent his time in Asahikawa until graduating from high school. Specializes in 16th century French literature and thought, with a focus on Montaigne. After working as an educational research assistant in the Japanese language department at Bordeaux University III from 2006 to 2008, he moved to Aoyama Gakuin University in April 2009.
▼About the seminar
In my seminar, titled "Culture and Society of the French Renaissance," we focus on interpreting 16th century French literary works and aim to understand the characteristics of the works as well as the social conditions and cultural phenomena behind them.
In 2023, students studied Rabelais's "Gargantua" to learn about its narrative structure, characters, and narrative techniques, and also considered the various aspects and effects of laughter in Rabelais's work.
In 2024, students learned basic knowledge of French poetic law and how to read poetry by poets representing the Renaissance (Clément Marot, Du Bellay, Ronsard, etc.). They also listened to music that was set to the poems they had studied in class, and viewed paintings related to the themes of the poems, deepening their understanding of the relationship between "poetry and music" and "poetry and painting" in the 16th century.
The flow of the class is that after carefully reading a French text (an excerpt from a work) in each class, I present the students with questions about the theme, characteristics, and issues of the text. I ask the students to think of answers individually, or in groups if the questions are difficult, and then analyze the work based on their answers, with me adding supplementary explanations. Through this method, the students also learn about the Renaissance culture and society behind the work. Furthermore, I introduce topics related to Renaissance culture and customs as necessary so that the students will become interested in diverse ways of thinking and values.
Generally, lectures are taught by the professor, but in seminars, students are expected to delve into the topic themselves and tackle assignments while exchanging opinions with other members. We hope that all participants in the seminar will absorb new knowledge and skills through friendly competition, enjoy interacting with their peers, and feel a sense of fulfillment in their learning.
Nobuko Akiyama
Researcher Information
Field of expertise: 17th century literature/drama
Seminar research topic: Learning about the appeal of French theater / Reading Molière's "The Misanthrope"
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▼Seminar policy
The Akiyama seminar aims to allow students to experience the appeal of 17th century French literature (especially drama) texts. To achieve this, the steady work of reading the text as if getting close to it is essential. Therefore, in this seminar, we place the focus above all else on textual comprehension, and spend a year carefully reading one work. In doing so, in order to allow students to realize that they can approach a single text from various angles, we pose a problem and have the students make a presentation based on that problem.
I hope that by preparing for the presentation (creating handouts, etc.), I can provide a place for the students to practice conveying their ideas to others accurately. Ultimately, I also hope that we can enjoy watching a French play together in French.
▼Comments from seminar students
Professor Akiyama has translated the Complete Works of Molière. I think it is wonderful to be able to read Molière's Dom Juan together with a professor who is still active today. It is a valuable and interesting experience to receive lectures from a researcher at the forefront of research. I am also happy that he will be showing us some videos of stage and film versions of Molière's Dom Juan. (Hayakawa Ruriko)
Unlike regular classes, the lessons are very easy to understand and profound, incorporating videos, the teacher's own experiences, and publications. Moreover, the teacher's personality is directly reflected in the lessons, making them a pleasure for the students. (Imabuku Mayu)
During Akiyama's seminar, the class always proceeds in Professor Akiyama's own bright and cheerful atmosphere, and sometimes we get so carried away by that atmosphere that we forget we are in the middle of a seminar. Our research topic is the play "Don Juan," and we read about it from various angles, including presentations, close readings of the work, and watching a video of an actual performance of "Don Juan." Although we sometimes struggle, our interest in the work only grows. At first, I chose this seminar because I was attracted to the theme of "theater" rather than the work itself, but now I enjoy reading about the deeds of the prodigal Don Juan every time I read about it. (Takamune Kazue)
Praised, encouraged and flattered by their professor, the students are currently studying Molière's Don Juan in Akiyama's seminar. Specifically, they are reading from the original text, watching videos of the performance to see how it was staged, and reading and presenting papers on specific topics, learning to approach the work from multiple perspectives. However, Akiyama's seminar has a laid back attitude, and the classroom is filled with smiles from start to finish in a friendly atmosphere, which is a direct reflection of Professor Akiyama's personality. (Takada Shinichiro)
In Akiyama's seminar, we spend a year thoroughly reading one of the many works of the 17th century comic playwright Molière. The basic class format is for each student to take turns translating the original text, with the professor carefully teaching us grammar and tips on how to translate. The professor has already translated Molière's works in "The Complete Works of Molière," so it is a great pleasure to be able to receive instruction from the translator himself.
There is also a yearly presentation session in which students make groups of two or three. Students research the characteristics of the work they are reading, compare it with other works and periods, and compile the results in a booklet. After the presentation, the teacher points out the good points and carefully explains any supplementary explanations or points of improvement. The report that is submitted is returned to us with the teacher's corrections. As students, it is very rewarding to receive not only an overall evaluation, but also comments and suggestions on individual parts, which allows us to improve on our work next time.
Our seminar has a friendly atmosphere, just like our teacher's personality. Apart from classes, we sometimes go to see plays together. When we go to see a play, we gather at Main Gate and go out as if we're on an excursion. If we have time before the play, we also have a light meal together. It's a very friendly seminar. Also, our get-togethers are not "drinking parties" but "dinner parties." It's fun to chat while eating delicious food.
Professor Akiyama is a funny, kind and gentle person. In Akiyama's seminar, we often chat and laugh, but we are very disciplined. When we teach, we do it properly. That's the kind of seminar we are in. (Mayuko Miyawaki, Kasumi Sano)
Hisashi Ida
Researcher Information
Field of expertise: 18th century literature/philosophy
Seminar research topic: Reading Diderot's collection of short stories
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▼Self-introduction
Born in Tokyo, he specializes in 18th century French thought, particularly the Encyclopedist writer Diderot.
▼Introduction to the seminar
As the 18th century is often called the Century of Enlightenment or the Century of Philosophy, the literary texts of 18th century France, in which so-called Enlightenment thinkers (philosophers) such as Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot led the discourse of their time as philosophers while also being active as literary figures such as novelists, poets, and playwrights, have a strong intellectual and philosophical tendency regardless of genre.
In this seminar, we use literary texts from 18th century France, which can be considered the roots of the modern era, a time when various concepts and ways of thinking that are now common sense, such as "freedom" and "individuality," were created, while modern literature as a cultural system centered on novels and poetry, as the word "literature" generally suggests, had not yet been established, to decipher the historical meaning and intellectual history background of certain concepts hidden in casual words in the texts.
18th century French is not so different from modern French in terms of grammar and vocabulary that you might think you can read it just by looking at the words, but the more common and seemingly simple words such as "body" and "mind" often have meanings unique to that era that cannot be understood without a certain degree of understanding of philosophical arguments and the flow of thought, so it's not as straightforward as you might think. However, by reading and comprehending 18th century French texts, you can trace back to the historical roots of the words and concepts we use every day without giving them much thought, and learn about the worldview and way of thinking of people at that time, which was centered around the Christian framework, and this should be an interesting experience even for us Japanese, who have imported modern European civilization and promoted Westernization since the Meiji period.
▼Student comments
In the Ida seminar, we select one work each year and read it closely. However, the class does not end with the teacher revising the students' Japanese translations. Questions about the text are answered through dialogue between the teacher and the students, and the teacher also provides a wealth of knowledge.
The teacher's stories are not only about French culture and history, but also about his own experiences studying abroad and recent episodes, and they often make me chuckle. I always submit to the teacher any questions or interesting points I found during the intensive readings or the teacher's talks, and when the paper is returned the following week, I'm surprised to see it covered in comments written in red pen! I always look forward to reading it.
Not only can you deepen your relationship with your professor through communication, but you can also make friends with students from different years at seminar parties, and even the game of rock-paper-scissors to decide the order of presentations is very exciting! By diligently reading closely, you can broaden your knowledge and deepen your relationships at the same time! I look forward to every seminar. (Misaki Imai)
Since last year, the Ida seminar has been the class I look forward to the most.
In the seminar, not only do we deeply consider the ideas of Diderot and Voltaire through the translation of the original French texts, but we also hear many anecdotes that make us think about the connections between those ideas, various ideas in 18th century France, and the present day. Also, mainly through comment papers and their replies, and sometimes in conversations with the professor during class, we can express our thoughts during class and receive expanded responses to them.
From just one book, you can get a sense of the vast world and get hints for living in the modern world. And the time spent in the seminar, where you can have many conversations with Professor Ida, who is truly a living "encyclopedia," is very, very meaningful! (Kataka Kurumi)
Zenta Araki
Researcher Information
Specialty: 19th century literature
Seminar research theme: Thinking about Paris / Reading Photographs
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I was born in Tokyo. I'm about the same age as Tokyo Tower. I lived mostly in the countryside in France, so I'm not familiar with Paris. Due to work reasons (i.e. classes), I sometimes talk about Paris, but I can't rely on it very much.
▼About the seminar
Each year, the seminar will choose a central theme and proceed with classes in the form of presentations by groups of two or three people followed by a question-and-answer session. What is expected of the seminar participants is, in essence, to establish a proper response between presenter and audience (ideally, as this is a department that deals with language, they will keep in mind not only "what" to say, but also "how" to say it). I hope that this once-a-week class will be a place where various ways of looking at things and ways of thinking come together, lasting several tens of minutes with a certain degree of tension.
▼Comments from seminar students
This year's seminar had a rather abstract theme, "The relationship between words and images," and everyone, including me, had a hard time making presentations, but I personally think it was fun. Since we were free to speak, I think the class would have been more exciting if everyone had tried harder to speak, even about trivial or unrelated topics.
This presentation made me realize once again how difficult it is to give a presentation in front of everyone. I also realized how much of a shock it is for the presenter to not get a reaction from the audience. I realized that a presentation is something that is created by both the presenter and the audience. This can also be said about classes.
To make the most of your time in the seminar, communication between the teacher and the students, and among the students themselves, is essential. To achieve this, there is no better way than to drink together and become friends. (Ryota Sakaguchi, 3rd year)
Miyuki Fukuda
Researcher Information
Specialty: 19th century literature
Seminar research topic: 19th century French literature and Japonism
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▼Profile
Born in Tokyo. Ever since I was a child, I have loved reading translated literature. When I came across Emile Zola's "The Izakaya" in high school, I was so moved that I vowed to study French literature at university and read it in the original language. I have been devoted to Zola ever since. I have studied abroad in Lyon for one year and Paris for three years.
▼About the seminar
We will learn about the relationship between literature and art in 19th century France, a time when the development of science and industry dramatically changed the nature of traditional art. 19th century writers often featured artists in their works, wrote studio visit reports and salon reviews, and constructed their own art theories while expressing "images" with "words." Artists, on the other hand, expressed "words" with "images" by taking inspiration from literary works and creating works of art or by illustrating poetry collections and novels. Literature and art sometimes cooperated and sometimes competed, building new aesthetics in line with the changing times.
Participants in the seminar will be able to connect the dots between artists and works that they may only have heard of by name, and gain a deeper understanding of the artistic background of 19th century France. Depending on upcoming art exhibitions and upcoming French films, the seminar themes will change, and we hope to create seminar activities that are unique to each year.
Yoshihiko Nakano
Researcher Information
Specialty: 19th century literature
Seminar research topic: Reading French lyric poetry
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Born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. Spent my student years in Kansai, Tokyo and Paris, and worked as a teacher in Oita and Yokohama. I specialize in modern French poetry, especially the romantic poet Victor Hugo (also famous as the novelist of Les Miserables).
▼About the seminar
We will study Romantic poetry, which flourished in the early 19th century. When you hear "Romanticism," you might think of a school of free and uninhibited self-expression. There is certainly that aspect, but when these poets talk about "I" in their works, is that the real "I" from the author's perspective? Taking novels as an example, it is clear that this is not necessarily the case. Novel lovers will know firsthand that authors can disguise themselves as various "I's." Meanwhile, in lyric poetry, the "I" in a poem has often been confused with the poet himself.
In the seminar, we will read poetry, mainly from the 19th century onwards, and learn that the formula that lyric poetry = self-expression does not always hold true. In that case, works in other genres written by the same author will also be useful clues. For example, Hugo sometimes published almost the same content in both poetry and journalistic writing. The 19th century was a time when transportation and communication methods developed dramatically, and journalism became increasingly influential. How did Hugo balance the "I" of his poetry with the "I" of his journalism? It should be possible to expand this thinking in this way, starting from lyric poetry.
These literary problems are by no means something of the past. In this age when anyone can express themselves through social media, and in an increasingly diverse society, isn't it useful to consider the possibility that "I" am not one and the same?
Takashi Abe
Researcher Information
Field of expertise: 20th century literature/philosophy
Seminar research topic: Philosophy of "Labor"
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▼Profile
Born and raised in Matsuyama, Shikoku. Spent a little bit of childhood in Mexico. Went to university in Tokyo and spent six years in Kichijoji. After that, studied abroad in Paris, France. Six years passed in the blink of an eye. After returning to Japan, he settled in Sibuya, where he has been ever since. In 2008, he was appointed to Aogaku.
▼Introduction to the seminar
Each year, the seminar decides on a central theme, and the class proceeds in the form of reading and presenting a text on that theme, followed by a question-and-answer session. In essence, what is expected of the seminar participants is to establish a proper response between presenter and audience (ideally, as this is a department that deals with language, they should keep in mind not only "what" to say, but also "how" to say it). I hope that this once-a-week class will be a place where various ways of looking at things and ways of thinking come together, and that it will be a time of some tension.
▼Messages from faculty members
In the seminar, we will often choose philosophical topics, but rather than studying "philosophy" in the narrow sense, I would like to learn ways of thinking and looking at things based on philosophical texts, and aim to acquire the culture to flexibly interpret culture and society from such a perspective. As far as texts are concerned, genres such as "literature" and "philosophy" are not very important. The fun of studying at university should be to "nibble" at various knowledge in various fields without being fixated on such specialization.
The purpose of the seminar is not to transmit knowledge one-way from the professor to the students, so I am looking forward to talking and thinking together with the other participants. For me, it is also a place to learn.
Eri Wada
Researcher Information
Field of expertise: 20th century literature
Seminar research topic: Reading Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time"
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▼Read "In Search of Lost Time"
The story begins with the consciousness of a person who is asleep, or who has suddenly woken up in the dark and lost all sense of time and self. It is the story of the protagonist and narrator, "I," who is Marcel Proust, and also the "I" that the reader should find in the novel. In this novel, Proust says that when reading a book, the reader is his own reader. In other words, reading allows one to discern things inside oneself that one had not noticed before. This is Proust's sharp observation on the act of reading in general, and also reveals that his work was written with such intention. This novel will therefore give the impression of being a completely different work to different readers. For some, it may be a psychological novel about love and jealousy, while for others, it may be a philosophical novel about the theme of time. Some readers will be fascinated by the criticism of artistic works such as paintings and music, while others will be drawn to Proust's sharp gaze on society, such as the Dreyfus Affair and the First World War.
Let us take the time and effort to slowly descend into ourselves and make this fictional world our own experience, as Proust intended.
This year we will be reading the second volume of "In Search of Lost Time", "In the Shadow of Blooming Maidens", focusing on the following three themes.
1. Romance and Literature
2. Nature and Art
3. Culture and Society of the Belle Époque
I carefully guide students in the beginning so that they can read and understand Proust's long texts. I want them to thoroughly appreciate the texts, which are full of metaphors and allusions. I also ask them to choose a topic related to the novel and give a presentation on it.
Kouichirou Hamano
Researcher Information
Field of expertise: 20th century literature
Seminar research theme: French literature and thought since the 20th century
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▼ Biography
Born in Kanagawa Prefecture (1969), but spent his student years in the Kansai region. Has lived in France for a relatively long time. Has been working here since April 2004.
▼About the seminar
The purpose of my seminar is to select one or more texts from the field of 20th century French literature and thought, and to read and analyze them. In 2025, we will be taking up Marguerite Duras' novella "The Lover." While deepening our knowledge of the writer Duras, we would also like to touch upon the society and culture of French Indochina, the main setting of "The Lover," and consider the work in relation to the novel.
In the seminar, students give presentations and answer questions almost every time from around mid-October. I instruct them on the topic of the presentation, but I leave the content and structure up to each student's discretion. After reading the text carefully, thinking about it thoroughly, and consulting other materials for any points they don't understand, they will have to devise a structure for their presentation and actually give it in front of other students.
▼Voices of seminar students
In Hamano's seminar, there is a tacit understanding that classes will start 15 minutes late. As you can see from this, it is a seminar with a relaxed atmosphere. However, once the class starts, we are drawn in by the professor's cheerful and clear explanations. The class format is centered around the professor's lecture and student presentations.
In this seminar, we are studying Bataille's early writings. Surrealism became popular during the unstable period following World War I. Bataille criticized the inconsistency of the Surrealist movement, and sought to shed light on the destructiveness of human beings that makes them, and even us, want to look away. His ideas provide us with fresh inspiration. From his ideas, I learned the joy of thinking freely about things without being bound by norms. Everyone will gain different things, but you are sure to gain something from this seminar. (Iijima Tomohisa, 3rd year)
Marion de Lencquesaing
Researcher Information
Specialty: 17th century literature/religious history/women's history
Seminar research theme: Learning French literature in French
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▼Profile
I was born in southwestern France and grew up in Paris. I am currently researching 17th century French literature, particularly religious narrative works such as the lives of saints. I have always had a strong interest in Japanese culture, so I am very happy to be able to teach in Japan. This has given me the opportunity to learn more about Japan, but I also hope that my students will learn about my favorite French films and literature and enjoy them together.
▼About the seminar
You will study French literature as if you were studying at a French university. Every year, a new theme is chosen from works of French literature from the Middle Ages to the present. The themes are diverse, including reading images of women reflected in works, reading travelogues, reading literary works that depict oneself, and reading literary works that depict the world. You will read excerpts from works by famous authors such as Racine, Rousseau, Hugo, Camus, and Beauvoir, as well as works by lesser known authors. Through careful interpretation of the texts, you will discover French culture and the historical and religious context in which the texts were written.
In the first semester of 2021, we read the well-known stories "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty" by Charles Perrault. These stories are well-known, but few people have actually read them. We will reinterpret the various elements that appear in the work "Cinderella" and consider the background, society, and culture of the era in which Perrault lived. We will also read "Beauty and the Beast," written by Madame de Beaumont in 1756, and analyze the changes in representation by comparing it with the film adaptation by Jean Cocteau (1946).
In the seminar, students read a text and first explain its contents in simple French. They answer simple questions to understand the content of the text and gradually become immersed in the work.
French Language
Nori Kondo
Researcher Information
Field of expertise: Linguistics
Seminar research topic: Corpus-based analysis of French
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▼Profile
I specialize in linguistics, particularly phonology, sociolinguistics, and diachronic linguistics. I am also interested in historical changes in French language norms, differences in the French spoken in various countries and regions, and the interlanguage used by French learners. Since studying abroad in Quebec, Canada for about a year during graduate school, I have become interested in Quebec French and have been gradually progressing with my research.
▼About the seminar
When learning French in class, it may be easy to fall into the illusion that the French you are learning is one and the same. It is certainly important that the French reflected in textbooks and the French you learn in the classroom are normative. However, when you listen to actual French being spoken, you will notice that the words being spoken differ slightly depending on the linguistic background of each speaker. In this seminar, we aim to think about the reasons why these differences occur.
By analyzing a corpus of natural French conversations, we will learn about the characteristics of spoken French. Various characteristics are observed in spoken French, such as hesitations, self-repairs, omissions, and syntactic structures that differ from written French. I hope that by discovering these characteristics empirically, participants in this seminar will be able to improve their French language skills.
Kentaro Koga
Researcher Information
Field of expertise: Linguistics (especially morphology)
Seminar research topic: Scientific analysis of French
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▼Profile
I have lived in Tokyo and Kanagawa for the longest time, but I lived in Bangkok, Thailand when I was in elementary school. I studied abroad in Bordeaux and Paris in France for a total of five years. Before coming to Aoyama in 2024, I lived in Fukuoka. Through my hobby of baking, I became interested in foreign words of French origin, and decided to major in French linguistics at university. As an extension of that, I am currently researching the structure of French words.
▼About the seminar
This seminar has two main goals: to identify a question and to scientifically analyze that question.
Up until now, you have been studying French, and have been learning grammar rules and vocabulary. During this time, you must have had more than a few moments where you wondered, "Why don't we need an article here?" or "It's strange that this thing is named like that in French." Such doubts and realizations are actually the seeds of academically significant "questions," but unfortunately (from a linguist's perspective), they tend to be buried and forgotten.
This seminar will begin by carefully picking up the seeds of such "questions" about the structure of French. Each participant will share what topics in French they are curious about or interested in, and through discussion, we will clarify where the problem lies, in order to develop these into academic questions. Once we have achieved this, we will move on to the second objective, "scientific analysis." Through presentations and other means, participants will acquire practical knowledge of the things necessary to proceed with analysis, such as how to use a corpus (a body of material) and how to construct hypotheses, considerations, and conclusions.
I want the seminar to be a place where students and teachers can learn from each other and gain from each other. In the seminar, I will pose various questions to you, so I would be happy if you could share your questions and thoughts about the structure of the French language with me.
French Culture
Sylvain Adami
Researcher Information
Specialty: French language education
Seminar research theme: Study of Francophonie culture / Study of French culture and society
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▼Profile
Born in Paris but raised in Franche-Comté (Besançon) in the east of France, he graduated with a PhD in Geography, specialising in sports geopolitics.
Research
My research focuses on the teaching of French as a foreign language (particularly e-learning, which uses the latest technology to improve the effectiveness of French language acquisition) and the geopolitics of French (the changing status of the French language in response to political and economic changes in countries around the world).
▼Recent major achievements and papers
"The place of French in the South-East region: bilingual classes and the role of the Valofrase project" (The status of French in French-speaking Southeast Asia) Etudes Françaises nº 21 Aoyama Gakuin University Tokyo 2012
«PrepaFLE, une préparation linguistique et culturelle des étudiants japonais à leur séjour en France à travers un dispositif FOAD (Formation ouverte à distance) » (Distance education for Japanese students to prepare for their stay in France) Revue japonaise de didactique du français vol . 8, nº 1 Société japonaise de didactique du français Tokyo 2013
▼Seminar policy
The main theme of the seminar is "A Perspective on Contemporary French Society." The goal is to work in French on contemporary French society and its changes according to a yearly research plan. In class, students will be divided into small groups and will prepare for a wide range of topics of their choice, presenting their findings in oral presentations and reports at the end of each semester. The aim of this seminar is to discover perspectives on the politics, economy, society, and culture of contemporary French society and to deepen their thoughts.
▼Comments from seminar students
I studied world history in high school and became interested in Europe, especially France. I wanted to learn more about French thought and culture through literature, which is why I decided to enroll in Department of French Language and Literature.
After enrolling, I learned not only French language and literature, but also French society, and became interested in French society, life, and the rich food culture, so I joined Professor Adami's seminar, which studies French society. My research theme is "Accepting immigrants in France," and through this research, I learned a new side of France, that of a "country with serious social problems," which is the opposite of the image of France as a "beautiful, elegant country" where people relax in cafes and enjoy art. The more I learn about France, both the good and the bad, the more interested I become and the more I like it. In addition, by cultivating my thinking skills and knowledge in the seminar and actually experiencing the local situation in France, I feel that my knowledge has deepened and I have acquired a multifaceted perspective.
Although there is only a little time left until graduation, I am grateful to the teachers who have raised my motivation to learn and to this environment where I can learn and think for myself, and I will continue to work hard every day to seek various knowledge and abilities. (4th year Mizusaki Reiko)
Helline Havet
Researcher Information
Field of expertise: Linguistics (especially contrastive linguistics)
Seminar research theme: Contrastive study of French and Japanese language and culture
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▼Profile
I was born and raised in Orléans. Since I was a child, I have loved learning foreign languages, so I decided to specialize in linguistics. I am currently researching the phonology and morphology of Japanese and French.
▼About the seminar
How does language fit into our societies, how does it evolve, and what does it tell us about our culture?
The content covered in the AVE Seminar falls within the fields of sociolinguistics and contrastive linguistics.
In the first semester, we will cover topics that are trending in France, such as gender dualism, gender equality, and linguistic discrimination. For example, in 2021, Robert's online dictionary included a new personal pronoun, "iel (she/he)," which combines "elle (she)" and "il (he)." How does French adapt to social changes and evolve with them? Through a comparison of French and Japanese, we will consider the ways in which each language adapts to social changes.
In the second half of the study, we will focus on cultural elements, especially aspects related to time and space. In particular, we will identify parameters inherited from history, religion, etc., and consider whether they evolve. For example, Western countries have traditionally conceptualized time linearly, which is said to lead to morphologically complex tenses. Therefore, the question arises as to whether it is possible to accurately translate a sentence from French to Japanese, which has fewer tenses.
In the seminars, students read papers by famous linguists such as Saussure, Sapir, Whorf, and Bourdieu to deepen their opinions and knowledge, and also do group work. Based on that, students make presentations on topics of their own choosing.
RESEARCH THEMES Examples of student research topics
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French literature and marriage -
Laughter in François Rabelais' Gargantua
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Fiction and reality in Charles Perrault's Fairy Tales
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About Marguerite Duras's "Moderato Cantabile"
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Japanese-French onomatopoeia translation
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Differences in the classification and meaning of aspects in French and Japanese
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French language policy and regional language education
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Manga and Bande Dessinée
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Perfume and society
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The LGBT Situation in France and Japan
