GEC Multimedia Graduation Project Presentation
This is the Department of English and American Literature, Faculty of Foreign Studies, Kanagawa University. In January, the fourth-year students in the GEC program of the Department of English and American Literature held their multimedia graduation project presentations. Through presentations, videos, pamphlets, and more, the students introduced their graduation projects within the university. The graduation projects for the GEC program are supervised by Professor Wai-Yee Lo, Professor Sonia Chick, and Professor Kori Wallace. Here, we will introduce the graduation project presentations supervised by each of these professors.
Professor Lo
Professor Lo specializes in postcolonial and world literature. In the Department of English and American Literature, she teaches courses such as "The British Empire in East Asia: Victorian and Neo-Victorian Perspectives." Her approach to literature goes beyond mere narrative analysis, deepening the study by touching upon the historical background and political elements of the works.
For the graduation project, students select an object related to the era covered in class (such as a photograph or a cultural item like pottery), collect and analyze literature on it, examine its historical context, and give a presentation.
By focusing the research on an object, the theme becomes clear and the direction of the research is narrowed down. On the other hand, because the subject is concretely defined, it is possible to study the object from multiple perspectives, allowing for interdisciplinary research. The target audience for the object introduction text is the general public. When writing, students consider how to convey academic content in an accessible way.
On the day of the graduation project presentation, one student presented on the Opium Wars using a photograph of an opium smoker as the subject, while another student focused on the patterns of a teacup and presented on the cultural background that can be read from its design.
Taking advantage of the campus location in Minatomirai, the class learns about the international history of Yokohama by visiting sites such as the Yokohama Archives of History, the Yokohama Port Opening Memorial Hall, the former foreign settlement, Chinatown, the British House, and the Bluff No. 111. By visiting actual historical sites in this way, students learn more creative research methods.
If you would like to know more about these Yokohama historical site tours, please check out this article!
Professor Chick
Professor Chick specializes in linguistics. In the Department of English and American Literature, she teaches courses such as "Studies on Language and Society I." Professor Chick's graduation projects cover a diverse range of topics related to communication.
In her classes, students learn about media and corporate communication in general through the analysis of the relationship between text and images, comparisons of communication across languages and cultures, and the examination of ideologies and stereotypes in media discourse.
Using subjects such as advertisements for cosmetics companies, movie reviews, and memes, students perform text analysis by focusing on the language used. The analysis of the relationship between text and images used in modern society, presented from a student's unique perspective, captures the interest of the audience.
In addition to the presentation, the graduation project emphasizes student creativity, with students submitting their research summarized in formats such as pamphlets.
Professor Wallace
Professor Wallace specializes in international politics. He teaches courses such as "Global Citizenship Studies II," which covers development aid. In the students' graduation projects, a wide range of themes were addressed, including identity, tourism, and the history of Yokohama.
As part of their graduation projects, students created and watched videos introducing their research content. By effectively utilizing background music, graphs, and photos in addition to their own narration, they were able to convey their research findings in an easy-to-understand manner.
Some students even conducted actual interviews for their graduation projects. It was a fulfilling presentation that conveyed how each student worked on their graduation project using various methods.
GEC graduation projects are written and presented in English. The students were able to fully demonstrate the data collection, data analysis, critical thinking, and communication skills they cultivated at GEC to convey these in English. Parts of the graduation projects will be exhibited at the Open Campus, so please come and see them!
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