Dear Teachers and Students,

Please circulate the following announcement to all high school juniors and seniors who you think would be interested in learning more about Japan.

Reischauer Scholars Program

The Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) and the Center for Global Partnership, the Japan Foundation would like to invite all interested high school juniors and seniors to apply to the 2008 Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP). The RSP annually selects 25 exceptional high school juniors and seniors from throughout the United States to engage in an intensive study of Japan. Selected students participate in an Internet-mediated course on Japan from February to June 2008.

The RSP provides students with a broad overview of Japanese history, literature, religion, art, politics, economics, and contemporary society, with a special focus on the U.S.–Japan relationship. Ambassadors, top scholars, and experts throughout the United States and Japan provide lectures via the Internet as well as engage students in online dialogue. These lectures and discussions are woven into an overall curriculum that will provide students with reading materials and assignments. Concurrent with the Internet-mediated course, students also develop individual research projects. Final research projects will be printed in journal format and students will be required to lead two presentations on Japan at their schools or in their communities. In the summer of 2008, two RSP students will be selected as honorees of the Japan Day event. These student honorees, chosen on the basis of their exceptional coursework and research essays, will be invited to present their research papers at Stanford University. All students who successfully complete the course will earn Stanford Continuing Studies Program (CSP) credit and a Certificate of Completion from SPICE, Stanford University.

Selected students will participate in 10 “virtual classes” via the Internet between February and June 2008. Students should expect to allot 2–5 hours per week to complete the lectures, discussions, readings, and assignments. Since this is a distance-learning course, however, students will be able to structure most of the work around their individual schedules. Although intensive, the RSP will equip participants with a rare degree of expertise about Japan that may have a significant impact on their choice of study and future career.

The 2008 Reischauer Scholars Program is now accepting applications! The Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) would like to invite all interested high school juniors and seniors to apply to the 2008 RSP. All completed applications must be postmarked by October 26, 2007.

If you have questions about the Reischauer Scholars Program or the application process, please e-mail Naomi Funahashi, RSP coordinator, at nfunahashi@stanford.edu .

Download an application at

www.reischauerscholars.org.

Naomi Funahashi
Reischauer Scholars Program