Finnish University Network for Asian Studies

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Advanced Level Online Teaching on Asia

East Asian Current Affairs Debate Course
Discuss Current East Asian Affairs with Finnish and Russian students online! APPLY BY 16.9.2009!!! Centre for East Asian Studies at the University of Turku and Faculty for Oriental Studies at the St. Petersburg State University coorganise a joint debate course on East Asian current affairs (2 credits).
The course brings together experts and students from both Finland and Russia to discuss topical issues during academic year 2009-2010. The debate course will include topics such as society and politics, e.g. the upcoming Japanese election, security and energy etc. The monthly sessions (8 sessions) start with a presentation by an invited guest speaker and are then followed by a discussion session. Students are required to write learning diaries after each session (minimum 5 learning diaries).
The Finnish University Network for East and Southeast Asian Studies provides an opportunity for university students from Finnish Universities to join in the course as enrolled students. A maximum of 10 MA-level students will be accepted to the course. The course is organised on the Internet with the Connect Pro online conferencing tool. Students from Turku and St. Petersburg participate in the conference from the appointed lecture halls, but students coming from elsewhere in Finland can debate online on the Internet. First session topic (18.9.2009 at 12:00): Topic: The Changing Meanings and Roles of Political Parties in Japan: the Shift from Intra-Party Competition to Inter-Party Competition Speaker: Professor Paul Midford from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. East Asian Current Affairs (course teacher Lindstedt-Lempa), 2 credits Goals: Students learn to access and use Asian media to find information about significant contemporary issues. Level: MA-level course for MA-level students. Students should some background knowledge in East Asian societies and politics. Contents: Monthly (8) panel discussions on topical issues with an invited guest speaker. Taken as: Participation in the preparations and discussions. Minimum 5 learning diaries. Grading: Pass/fail. Times: Periods I-IV. Monthly sessions according to schedule T.B.A. First session on Friday 18.9.2009 at 12.00. (following session dates and times will vary). Enrolled students will receive a welcome e-mail with more detailed information about the technical details regarding the online conferencing environment. Literature: Selected list of Asian Internet media sources to be announced during the course. Photo by kallisys (Creative Commons) Apply to the course using this online application form: The application time to this course is already over.