Peace as a Global Language Conference 2003

This lecture will provide a background to the Global Refugee Crisis, a literature review of the pedagogic and global issues teaching literature, reasons for incorporating the topic of the Global Refugee Crisis into your curriculum and some suggestions for how to incorporate the teaching of the crisis into your curriculum.

With the example of a case study of a Tokyo resident who according to time and setting presented different versions of himself--nationality, ethnicity, languages spoken, sexuality, HIV status, political history, etc.--attendees will discuss how and why we highlight or hide different aspects of our identities at different times.

This paper focuses on how a fledgling democracy like South Africa, with its atrocious human rights record during the apartheid era, has been able to maintain peace and stability since the democratic elections of 1994 and how the country's policies and practices have contributed to upholding human rights issues.

Japanese students are responsible for changing the world, and therefore teachers must be responsible for showing them how they can make a difference with their lives. Every class is an opportunity to help students focus on their contribution to important issues of the world, from decreasing packaging to boycotting Disney sweatshop produce. I will happily share my teaching ideas and experiences.

Many teachers use Environmental Education in class to simultaneously teach English and raise awareness of environmental issues. However, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that traditional Japanese culture, rooted in Zen and Taoism, has an understanding of nature and the environment far deeper than the shallow ecology of the west.

This paper examines the pedagogical implications of paying attention to learner experiences and identities as interpreted by the learners themselves. Narratives told by immigrant women enrolled in a California ESL program reveal perspectives on language learning and social positioning that can inform culturally-responsive curriculum development and classroom practice.

Recent years have seen increasing concern about violence in educational institutions. Much of this violence is gender-based and acts as a signifier of masculinity. While many teachers and concerned about bullying and aggressive behavior among students, schools play a key role in perpetuating hegemonic forms of masculinity. This presentation will review some of these initiatives.

How would students react if a teacher covered topics such as child prostitution, factory slaves, and female genital mutilation? How could those topics be taught? Survey results of two years of teaching those topics will be presented, as well as the methodology that made those topics accessible to students.

Using a slide show presentation format, I will draw parallels between Japan's Jomon period, ancient Malta and Minoan Crete to show that symbolism on artifacts and architecture can be interpreted as an exceptionally desirable language for women. In these prepatriarchal cultures, no traces of war can be found.

T Newfields: Deconstructing Cinderella - Helping Students Explore Their Own Myths; M Steele: Letters for Peace

This workshop demonstrates a lesson where students are introduced to The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights while using their English skills to question, problem solve and express opinions. Focusing on refugees, students examine the rights they enjoy in daily life, and what rights are denied to people in times of war, poverty and famine.

In this session participants will examine theoretical constraints towards utilizing enlightened techniques towards efficient learning structures. Participants will be given the chance to interact with the presenter in an exploration and critique of learning ideologies toward creating enlightened learning structures in otherwise tradition bound school cultures. Methods, materials and examples will be interactively presented.

Following the recent revelations from Nagoya prison and elsewhere, Amnesty International Japan is likely to take up prison conditions in Japan as a major campaign (April's AGM will decide). The presentation will describe current conditions, and the objectives of the AI campaign. The possibility of raising the issue in the classroom will also be addressed.

The presenter will show how folk stories and folkdances can be used to stimulate active and cooperative learning in an EFL class, while introducing skills in conflict resolution and concepts relating to peace. This method encourages students to examine new cultural experiences in order to develop a broader understanding of values and empathy.

The presenter wants to show through two Japanese children's songs and may be two American folk songs the idea of peace(heiwa) as love for hometown(furusato). So to encourage peace is to show how to love a piece of this earth, the piece that one longs for(koishiku naru tokoro). The presenter will read the paper first for about 15 to 20 min. which will be followed by questions and answers.

CANCELED! The goal of this paper is to explore what self-image Japanese students have toward their native English-speaking teachers and what factors affect their perspectives. The qualitative research method was conducted. Analyses and interpretations of the Japanese students' perspectives are presented in light of current EFL education and future research agendas.

This presentation will show that the process of group reflection and discussion is essential to building a critical consciousness that begins with questioning mainstream sources of information provided through schools and media and goes on to accessing alternative, critical, radical sources of information (e.g. Third World, grassroots social movements).

The Otaru Onsen Case was one where bathhouses refused entry to all "foreigners" based on appearance, from 1993 to 2001. After years of negotiations with the enterprises, all possible public authorities, and the general public, two non-Japanese and one naturalized Japanese brought suit against one onsen for racial discrimination, and the City of Otaru for not taking effective measures against it. In November 2002, the Sapporo District Court ruled against the onsen, but in favor of the City, stating that the latter was not responsible for legislating against discrimination-in violation of UN treaty. The dicision is under appeal, but Arudo Debito, one Plaintiff, will speak on the background of the case, the blind spots of Japanese society towards this issue, and the social consequences of Japan being the only OECD country without anti-racial-discrimination laws.

In this bilingual presentation, Miyazaki International College students will report on opinions about social activism held by Japanese youth surveyed. The study sheds light on Japanese students' lack of engagement in peace studies and volunteering activities. It concludes with a call for a paradigm shift in conceptualizing peace and socially engaged education in Japan.

Heterosexism, homophobia, domestic violence, rape, AIDs, male vs. female madness, androgyny, bisexuality, beauty standards, eating disorders, gender stereotypes/discrimination, gender roles, masculinities and femininities, parental responsibilities and marriage are themes in rock music lyrics to be displayed, and discussed by participants.  All teachers and interested others welcome to join this bilingual discussion.

From kindergarten through to University, School is a prison. In this two-part presentation we will first reveal the structure that imprison both children and adults and then show practical ways of bending the bars and achieving freedom. Paolo Friere talks of liberation. Liberation occurs through sharing and creating experience.

Due to PGL1 participant interest in possibilities for reconciliation for Japanese university students' grandparents regarding their WW2 experiences, this session will examine those possibilities. In a Peace Studies module, students study the reconciliation of a hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor), one of the US pilots on the Hiroshima mission, and various stories of personal acts of reconciliation to heal the wounds of WW2 as a prelude to interviewing their grandparents.

The number of HIV/AIDS cases continues to rise steadily in Japan, especially among those in their teens and early 20s. This demonstration will teach participants the basics about AIDS and show a variety of ways first-time teachers can present the topic to students of different levels in the EFL classroom.

In this session, participants will hear about and discuss an array of sociological perspectives on the role of the internet and cyber-protests in the contemporary peace movement. They will consider the effectiveness of pro-peace online petitions, discussion forums and newsletter. They will discuss the question of whether or not or to what extent the improvements in information technology and communication empower/disempower global citizens in their quest for peace.