A Historical Approach to the Development and Characteristics of Workshops in Japan

Focusing on the relevance to Pragmatism

Abstract

　　The purpose of this paper is to clarify historical development and characteristics of Workshops in Japan.  For this research question, at first, I explore the context of workshops in foreign countries, mainly in the United States.  Then, I review the history of workshops in Japan.  At last, from these genealogies of workshops, I analyze the difference between genealogies of workshops in Japan and in the United States.

　　In conclusion, firstly, in the foreign countries, Workshops were generated as “new approaches” to resolve the problems in each area, but there was the difference in the time for each area.  Secondly, in Japan, Workshops were introduced each domain as specified methods in the 1970s and 1980s, so that development of workshop practitioners was likely to be conducted in the segmented groups in each domain.  Finally, I state the importance of the perspective of Pragmatism for workshop practitioners’ development in future.