Peter Cave
Lecturer in Japanese Studies
Address: School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures, University of Manchester, Humanities Lime Grove Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL
Tel: 0161 2753195
email: peter.cave@manchester.ac.uk
Research specialisation
My research mainly focuses on education and socialization in Japan. I generally explore this field either with reference to the broader context of Japanese society, politics and culture, or in comparative studies with one or more other societies. I am interested both in what we can learn about Japanese culture and society through the prism of its educational practices, and also in how the study of Japan can contribute to advancing teaching and learning practices. My work draws on approaches from a variety of disciplines, including social anthropology (in which I took my postgraduate degrees) and comparative education. So far, my main research studies examine the following themes:
- Educational reform in contemporary Japan
- Shaping the self in educational contexts in Japan
- History education in Japan (and England)
- Primary education in Japan (especially the teaching of literature and mathematics)
- Politics and education in Japan
- Informal education (especially school clubs)
Two articles discuss educational reform policies in Japan from the 1990s on: 'Educational Reform in Japan in the 1990s: "individuality" and other uncertainties' (Comparative Education 37: 2 [2001], pp. 173-191), and 'Japanese Educational Reform: developments and prospects at primary and secondary level', in Roger Goodman and David Phillips (Eds.), Can the Japanese Change Their Education System (Oxford: Symposium, 2003), pp. 87-102. This discussion is deepened and brought up to date with respect to primary education in my book, Primary School in Japan: self, individuality and learning in elementary education (Routledge 2007). This book not only examines educational reform policies and their implementation in the classroom, but also relates their emphasis on individuality to understandings of selfhood in Japan. In addition, it provides detailed accounts of how Japanese primary teachers' practices in teaching literature and maths, arguing that these promote classrooms that are 'communities of inquiry'. The study also examines the role of primary schools in shaping gender identity.
From August to December 2007, I carried out fieldwork in Japanese lower secondary schools, to examine how educational reform has been implemented at this level of education. This was funded by a Japan Foundation Research Fellowship.
I am interested not only in how Japanese children are socialized inside the classroom, but also outside it, particularly in the school clubs that make up a very intense part of the junior high and high school experience, and this resulted in a 2004 article: 'Bukatsudo: The Educational Role of Japanese School Clubs' (Journal of Japanese Studies 30: 2, pp. 383-415).
Other research interests are the connected subjects of history education, and education and politics. I carried out a small-scale comparison of secondary school history teaching in Japan and England, with a particular focus on the way these two countries teach (or don't teach) about their imperial pasts, and this resulted in two articles: 'Teaching the History of Empire in Japan and England' (International Journal of Educational Research 37: 6-7 [2003], pp. 623-41) and 'Learning to Live with the Imperial Past? History Teaching, Empire and War in Japan and England', in Edward Vickers and Alisa Jones (Eds.), History Education and National Identity in East Asia (Routledge 2005), pp. 307-333. I continue to be interested in the developing story of history education and history textbooks in Japan, which is obviously a subject inextricably linked to Japanese politics. The way that politics impinges on schooling was also the subject of a co-authored article about controversies over the use of the Japanese flag and anthem in schools: Robert Aspinall and Peter Cave, 'Lowering the Flag: Authority, Democracy and Rights at Tokorozawa High School' (Social Science Japan Journal 4: 1 [2001], pp. 77-93). As the question of the role that schools should or should not play in fostering patriotism and national consciousness continues to be hotly debated in Japan, I expect this to be a continuing research interest as well.
Research students:
I have supervised masters and doctoral students on a variety of subjects to do with contemporary Japanese society, including delayed marriage, preschools and gender socialization, Japanese war orphans and widows returned from China, educational reform, juvenile delinquency, work among the over-sixties, popular culture, and fashion. I am particularly interested in supervising students in my own research areas, but am happy to consider supervising other topics in the field of contemporary Japanese society.
Publications: See 'Research specialisation', above.
Professional biography:
Personal and career details
I grew up in London and in Blackburn, Lancashire, and my first degree was in English at St Catherines College, Oxford. Literature and theatre remain among my great passions. Having spent only two weeks outside Britain before the age of 22, I thought it was time to broaden my horizons - this seems to have worked out, at least in the sense that I ended up spending most of the next 20 years abroad. Three years in rural Japan on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme ignited a desire to learn more Japanese and more about Japan, which was accomplished first through returning to Oxford for a second BA in Japanese Studies (including a delightful year at Kyoto University), and then by research degrees at Oxford in Social Anthropology. My DPhil thesis was a study of the transition from primary to junior high school in Japan, and involved 18 enjoyable months in schools in the Kansai (where most of my time in Japan has been spent). Just before finishing the doctorate I was offered a lectureship in Japanese Studies at the University of Hong Kong, which gave me the opportunity to experience life in a different part of East Asia, and discover first hand that societies in East Asia are just as diverse as those in Europe. Life in Hong Kong was fascinating, though hectic; regrettably my Cantonese remains minimal after nine years ('gau chaw!'), a fact I largely blame on anything and anyone but myself. I must also thank Hong Kong for educating me in how to make (and lose) money in stocks, mutual funds, commodities, and most other financial instruments devised by humanity or the devil. While there, I became co-editor of the Japan Anthropology Workshop (JAWS) Newsletter, and a member of the editorial board of Asian Anthropology. Regular short research trips to Japan included a month as Visiting Lecturer at Chuo University in 2000. When not attempting to illuminate myself and the world about Japan, my pursuits include reading, theatre-going, walking, political and church activities, while my main vice is trying to make money on the financial markets.
Teaching Areas:
I currently teach courses on modern Japanese society and Japanese reading, and have previously also taught courses on qualitative social research methods, Japanese to English translation, business Japanese, Japanese education, and Japanese popular culture.