From Awareness to Symbiosis : The Pathway of Multiculturalism : Focus on Japanese Students in the Multicultural Classes

埼玉県越谷市[特集 多文化理解の可能性]The writer is currently responsible for a class involving tasks related to multicultural understanding (多文化理解演習) in the Department of Literature at Bunkyo University. In a class with a mixture of Japanese and foreign students, lessons involve deciding topics whereby discussion is the centerpiece. This paper discusses the multiculturalism class and Japanese students' awareness of topics within the variety of cultures that exist in Japan. A questionnaire revealed that 90 percent of Japanese students had undergone a change in their consciousness regarding multiculturalism. In particular, an awareness of variety of cultures existing within Japan was realized. It is the writer's belief that for future building of coexistence in a multi-cultural society, viewpoints from various angles were obtained