Arkansas NCTA presents the Women's History Month Series, a 3-part workshop series on women in Japan for grade 9 - 12 teachers sponsored by the Arkansas Division of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. Register Here!
Arkansas NCTA presents its third annual Women’s History Month series for Arkansas teachers, focused on women in Japan. This workshop series provides teachers with essential context, classroom resources, and practical strategies for understanding women’s history in Japan, from the transformational authors of the medieval Heian period, to the “Good Wife, Wise Mother” ideal of the Meiji era, through to the pioneering women of contemporary Japan. Teachers who attend at least two events will receive TWO FREE BOOKS from the ARNCTA library. Please visit www. arncta.com for more details.
WHEN: Tuesdays in March (March 4, 11, 18) 4:30pm - 5:30pm
AUDIENCE: Grade 9 - 12 social studies and language arts teacher
Schedule:
March 4, 4:30pm: UCA Integrated Health Sciences Building Rm 201
Women in Japanese Ladies’ Comics: Understanding Japan through Manga
With Prof. Kinko Ito, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Please join Dr. Kinko Ito, a sociology professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR), for a wide-ranging conversation about women and manga in modern Japan. Dr. Ito, a nationally recognized expert in Japanese popular culture, will share strategies for understanding women and gender in contemporary Japan by exploring “Ladies Comics.”
March 11, 4:30pm: UCA Irby Hall Rm 215
Japanese Women, Then and Now: Between Empowerment and Marginalization
With Prof. Akiko Takeyama, University of Kansas
Japanese women have played a vital role in shaping society and the economy, yet they have long faced marginalization in both. From the Meiji era’s "Good Wife, Wise Mother" ideal to today’s workplace, they have balanced expectations of domesticity with growing professional opportunities. While education and careers have expanded their options, gender inequality, workplace discrimination, and social pressures still limit their full participation. This talk explores how Japanese women have navigated both empowerment and exclusion throughout modern history, shedding light on their evolving status and the ongoing fight for gender equality in Japan.
March 18, 4:30pm: UCA Irby Hall Rm 215
Women Authors in the Golden Age of Japanese Literature
With Prof. Zach Smith, University of Central Arkansas
Japan’s Heian Period (794 - 1185 CE) marked a Golden Age of Japanese literature, producing the world’s first novel (The Tale of Genji) and classic Japanese poetic forms, like haiku, that still resonate today. Moreover, much of this literary production was produced by women of the Heian aristocracy, such as Murasaki Shikibu and Sei Shonagon. This workshop explores the cultural factors that made Heian Japan a center of Japanese women’s literary production, and showcases classroom ready texts that provide a window into how medieval Japanese women understood their world.