Fulbright U.S. Student
Grantee Newsletter

Synthesizing the Old with the New: Discovering Design Traditions in Japan

Louie Rigano, 2010-2011, Japan (center), with the crew at Woodcraft Moku Hayama, a traditional furniture making workshop in rural Japan, where he studied as an apprentice.

During my Fulbright grant, I have been studying traditional Japanese aesthetics and the potential roles they can play in modern design.  I have been analyzing deeply rooted cultural concepts such as transience and impermanence, imperfection, rich textures and austere beauty, and applying these notions to objects designed for contemporary use.  It is my belief that these concepts, applied effectively and eloquently to commercial design, can offer alternative approaches to those used in creating poorly designed mass-produced objects that litter contemporary material culture.

My research has involved spending time in the rural workshops and studios of traditional craftsmen, as well as in the offices of modern design firms.  I have met and worked with many incredible craftsmen.  Last fall, I worked in a pottery studio operated by a father and son team in Hida Takayama, where I was graciously provided with my very own pottery wheel and workspace.  During breaks, we talked over green tea about the current state of craft in Japan, perceptions of Japanese simplicity and famous examples of Japanese pottery.  Who would have known that one of the most treasured tea bowls in Japan was originally a rice bowl that belonged to a poor Korean farmer?  This proactive and immersive approach has not only been about learning skills from these artisans and designers; it has also been about achieving a holistic understanding of the conceptualization behind material objects and their designs.  With this knowledge, I have been designing my own functional objects that pay homage to Japan’s history, merging it together with modern needs, practices and concepts.  Through this process, I hope to ensure that Japan’s rich design heritage will not be lost and will be fully embraced and appropriately integrated into today’s ever-changing, high-tech society.  The aim of this synthesis of old and new processes, technologies and materials, is to inject new values and meaning into distinctly modern objects.

Louie Rigano, 2010-2011, Japan, working on a project in the Woodcraft Moku Hayama workshop

To comment on and interact with other Fulbrighters about Louie Rigano's article on the Fulbright Community on State Alumni, please click here.       

Unlocking Student Voices: Engaging in Public Speaking in Montenegro

As one of the first Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) to serve in Montenegro, I taught fourth-year students at the University of Montenegro in the Department of English Language and Literature.  Following my arrival in August 2010, it became clear that I was going to be doing much more than just assistant teaching in an English language classroom; I was going to teach multiple sections of two college level courses.

I am delighted to share my experiences with the Fulbright community; one experience in particular, had a significant impact on me and my students in unanticipated ways.

Recognizing that being a competent communicator in the twenty-first century is critical to one’s professional success, I developed an advanced-level English conversation course that aimed at providing students with an opportunity to improve their conversation skills in a variety of “real-world” communication settings.  After all, the ability to speak confidently and persuasively is an asset to anyone who seeks to play an active role in the classroom and/or community.

Dustin L. Gee, 2010-2011, Montenegro (center, in dark suit), with some of his students from the University of Montenegro

For this reason, I felt it was necessary to help my students cultivate their public speaking skills.  However, I was not satisfied with this being the only learning outcome for my students.  I wanted them to engage in a powerful professional development opportunity.

I spent four weeks teaching my students about the art of persuasive speaking.  Specifically, we discussed Aristotle’s five cannons of rhetoric, learned how to structure a persuasive speech and reviewed the various modes of speech delivery.  I also connected and supported course content by integrating discussions on the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

In the end, I asked my students to deliver a five-minute speech that persuaded me (and their peers) why they should receive one million U.S. dollars to support a human rights article that they perceived as being overlooked in Montenegro.  This assignment called my students to action, engaged them in a meaningful dialogue on citizenship and guided them in unlocking their voices around issues of human rights in Montenegro.  Given that Montenegro became an independent country in 2006 (and is currently undergoing considerable political, educational and social reforms in order to be admitted into the European Union), I deemed this assignment as applicable to their lives - inside and outside of the classroom.

At first, my students were hostile to moving forward with this assignment.  They struggled to find the fundamental value and benefits of engaging in such an activity.  This came as no surprise, since for many of my students this was the first time they had been asked to think about public speaking.  What’s more, this was the first time an educator had challenged them to take a stand on an issue and argue for the rights of others.  I acknowledged that the assignment was intimidating and daunting, but I had confidence in my students.  I knew that they were capable of overcoming their initial apprehension about completing it.  When the day arrived for my students to deliver their speeches, nothing could have prepared me for the cultural learning experience I was about to encounter.  Over the course of the day, I became captivated by my students' use of words to conjure vivid imagery regarding a plethora of human rights issues.  My students spoke insightfully about issues of poverty, education, domestic violence, the right to own property, freedom of expression and the right to work.  They supported their arguments strategically by using credible statistics, props, photographs and called upon personal accounts to achieve the objectives of their speeches.

I was awestruck and elated.  These students were cynical about participating in this assignment, yet here they stood, delivering genuine speeches around real issues that mattered to them.  They had far exceeded my expectations.  Most importantly, they had surpassed a barrier that they were certain they could not overcome.

The most rewarding aspect of this entire experience surfaced through the conversations I had with my students after they delivered their speeches.  It was then that I realized how influential this assignment had been for them.  One of my female students had tears in her eyes and gave me a hug.  She thanked me for this experiential learning opportunity and disclosed that this was the first time she had been given a chance to talk freely in a safe environment about LGBT rights in Montenegro, an issue she had kept to herself for years.  She was impressed by the fact that I listened attentively to her speech.  I applauded and supported her for speaking about a controversial issue.

This student's voice had been unlocked.  Likewise, many of my other students experienced similar reactions to giving their speeches.  They finally understood the value and benefits of the assignment.  They now saw public speaking as a way to motivate others, to make a difference for the common good, and to ensure human rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled.  

At this moment, I realized that I had made a difference as a Fulbright ETA in the lives of undergraduate students in Montenegro.  In addition to representing the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, I was actively helping others to adopt positive attitudes about and develop strategies for establishing a pluralistic, democratic society.  This experience served as a defining moment for my Fulbright ETA grant and became a pivotal driving force for my future educational endeavors.  I am forever grateful to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for this invigorating experience.

To comment on and interact with other Fulbrighters about Dustin Gee's article on the Fulbright Community on State Alumni, please click here.