2005年02月19日 土曜日
Inward Cosmopolitan
by Jane Pinckard
Education
A piece in the Japan Times Online highlights the Cosmopolitan Consultancy, an English-language instruction program that also introduces other cultures of the world to its students. The students, mostly businesspeople or retired travelers, attend wine-tastings, tea parties, and lectures, and book club meetings.
One curious feature of the program that attracted my attention is that talks are given by foreigners on their perceptions of Japan - what it's like living there, how it compares to other countries. A feel-good session, if the speaker loves Japan? I can well imagine the tone, as I've heard it in hundreds of editorials and on television. A humorous, light, sligghtly condescending tone about the special challenges of, say, being Greek in Japan. Or are these sessions a chance for deep introspection? Implicit criticism or some cultural aspects of Japan, both the good and the bad, laid out for the Japanese listener to reflect on?
Is it hard to imagine a Japanese language classroom in the United States structured around Japanese nationals speaking of their experiences in the United States, comparing the U.S. to Japan? Students are far more likely to hear the opposite - tales of Americans traveling in Japan, what to expect if they should go.
This form of self-reflection through another's eyes repeats in television programs like "More Japanese Than Japanese!" in which foreigners who have mastered a Japanese art - the one I saw had a biwa player and a woodblock print artist, both American. A strange twist on internal tourism?
I haven't ever been to the Cosmopolitan Consultancy, so I do not know. But the article makes it sound more inward- than outward-looking. A safe haven for romanticizing bygone upper-class cultures. The current book in the club is an Agatha Christie Miss Marple novel. A Thai woman came to demonstrate and teach court dancing. Manners are studied - how to cut a scone. The founder of the program seems, to say the least, old-fashioned. Compared the women in the U.K., for example, Ms. Suzan says, "Personally I think women here have a marvelous time. All they have to do is be nice." But she admits, "It's different in the workplace, of course."
But in her world there is no workplace. Only long lazy afternoons of drinking tea, perhaps theatre in the evening. A fantasy of cosmopolitanism.
Posted by Jane Pinckard at 2005年02月19日 16:28
Comments
Hello Jane. I have been to Cosmopolitan twice to talk about my country, Belgium. I met nice people there. Maybe your reflections are a little bit too harsh.
You made critical remarks about the 'Wrong in Japan', but you haven’t read the book yet (in particular your reflections in my blog – in Chanpon you were more careful, it is true). And now you have harsh comments for poor Ms. Suzan, but you haven’t been to Cosmopolitan nor have any information about this association, except the JT article. With all respect, maybe you should be a little bit more careful before putting on your critical glasses.