Our Faculty

Employment History

• 2012(Jan.)-present Professor, Nagoya University
• 2007 (May) -2011(Dec.) Associate Professor, Nagoya University
• 1998 (Oct.)-2007(Apr.) Associate Professor, International Research Center for Japanese Studies
• 1998(Jun.) – 1998(Sept.) Assistant Editor, Social Science Japan Journal, Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo
• 1991(Jan.)-1995(Aug.) Teaching Assistant, Columbia University

Educational History

• 1998 Ph.D., Columbia University (Sociology)
• 1996 M. Phil., Columbia University (Sociology)
• 1993 M.A., Columbia University (Sociology)
• 1990 B.A., Columbia University (East Asian Languages and Cultures)

Specialized Fields

Sociology, comparative education

Research Interests

A comparison of styles of reasoning in Japan, the United States, Iran, and France; international comparisons of history and language arts education; a comparative study of entrance examinations, elite education and cultural capital in the four countries

Keywords for Research

Styles of Reasoning, Cognitive Sociology, Sociology of Knowledge, Communication Styles

Main Publications

Books

• 2021. The Social Construction of Logical Thinking: Styles of Reasoning and Language Education in France. Iwanami Shoten.
• Watanabe, Masako, Ema. 2019. “Typology of Abilities Tested in University Entrance Examinations: Comparisons of the United States, Japan, Iran and France,” Onaka Fumiya ed., Comparative Sociology of Examinations. New York: Routledge, pp.71-97.
• 2004. The Structure of Understanding: Styles of Reasoning and Expression in Japanese and American Schools, Tokyo: Toyokan. (translated into Persian: Watanabe, Masako Ema. 2022. Writing for Living. Translated by Rezaei Alireza. Tehran: Nashr-e Ney.)
• 2003. Styles of Narrative in History Education: International Comparisons of Pedagogy and Textbooks (editor), Tokyo: Sangensha

Articles

• 2015. “Typology of Abilities Tested in University Entrance Examinations: Comparisons of the United States, Japan, Iran, and France.” Comparative Sociology 14:79-101.
• 2014. “The International Baccalaureate Program in the Global Age: Its Impact on Socialization and Public Education.” The Japanese Journal of Educational Research, 81(2): 176-186.
• 2007. “A Comparison of Language Arts Education in the Three Countries, Japan, the United States, and France: Socio Historical Analyses of Reading and Writing,” Nihon Kenkyu, 35:573-619.
• 2003. “Styles of Explanation and Evaluation in History Education,” The Journal of Educational Sociology, 73:43-63.
• 2003. “A Comparison of Creativity and Individuality in Japan and the United States,” in Kawai Hayao ed., In Quest of the Individual in Japanese Culture, Tokyo:Nihon Hoso Shuppannkai, pp.263-296.
• 2001. “Styles of Explanation in Japan and the United States,” Japanese Sociological Review, 52(2):333-347.
• 2001. “A Paradox of Individuality and Creativity through Composition Lessons,” The Journal of Educational Sociology, 69:23-42.

Fellowships, Grants, and Awards

Awards

• Robert K. Merton Award (Dept. of Sociology, Columbia University)

Grants

• 2004-2006: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science(JSPS). Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research C,”Two Styles of Communication: The French Model of Civic Education and Language Arts as a New Alternative.”
• 2001-2003: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science(JSPS). Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research C, “Styles of Reasoning in Japan, the United States, and France.”

Academic Society Membership

• American Sociological Association
• The Japan Sociological Society
• The Japan Society of Educational Sociology
• The Japan Comparative Education Society
• The Japanese Society for Curriculum Studies

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