How the Heck Do You Write about Japan?
Journalist and Commentator Alice Gordenker presents Part II of our two-part series on "Japan Viewed from the Non-Japanese Perspective”
The Harvard Club of Japan is pleased to announce Part II of our two-part series of talks presenting a look at daily life in Japan from the distinctive perspectives of expert non-Japanese observers.
Part II: How the Heck Do You Write about Japan?
A talk by journalist and commentator Alice Gordenker
Most of us have occasion to write about Japan in our professional and personal lives, whether it’s in corporate memorandums, business proposals, blog posts or just emails to friends and family back home. The challenges are clear: how do you present what’s different without exoticizing? How much should you explain? Is it possible to convey your sense of wonder without making a total fool of yourself?
Join us on May 15 as veteran journalist Alice Gordenker, a lively speaker, shares her tricks and hints on writing about Japan. We'll get a behind-the-scenes look at how she crafts her popular “So, What the Heck Is That?” column for The Japan Times, now in its eighth year. In this monthly column Gordenker achieves a balance of humor and respect in meticulously researched yet decidedly offbeat reports on everything from traditional talismans to industrial safety. Her aim is to help her readers, whether non-Japanese or Japanese, find deeper meaning and understanding in their lives in Japan.
Admission to the event includes a standing buffet dinner at the elegant Roppongi Hills Club, with cash bar available.
Map: http://www.roppongihillsclub.com/visitor/dfw/en/common/pdf/map.pdf
Doors open at 18:30, with the talk to start at 19:00.
Admission is 5,000 yen payable at the door.
Please register online by May 12.
If you have any questions or need to cancel, please email: jonathan@jonathanharlow.com.
PLEASE NOTE THAT CANCELLATIONS AFTER MAY 12 AND NO-SHOWS WILL BE INVOICED FOR THE FULL COST OF ADMISSION. YOUR UNDERSTANDING AND COOPERATION WITH THIS POLICY IS APPRECIATED.
Speaker bio:
ALICE GORDENKER studied Japanese language and history at Princeton University, and has lived in Japan for more than 15 years. For most of that time she has been a regular columnist for The Japan Times, Japan’s oldest English-language daily. Her first column reported on Japanese education while detailing her American children’s years in Japanese public school. Then in 2005, Gordenker launched a new column in which she answers readers’ questions on Japan with meticulously researched yet decidedly off-beat reports on everything from culture to industrial safety. Her articles have been used in Japanese university entrance exams and have been adapted into a textbook for Japanese university students. Gordenker also reports and writes for NHK, Japan’s national broadcaster. In 2008, she wrote and directed her own program on the Japanese art of aging gracefully, which was broadcast around the world as part of NHK’s international programming.