国文学者が英語で論文を書く日

──文学研究の国際化はなぜ必要なのか, どのように可能になるのか？

抄録

Currently Japanese humanities scholars are under pressure to use English in teaching and writing irrespective of whether they have sufficient proficiency in it even in cases where there is no absolute necessity to use that language. Given this awkward situation, I would like to address such questions as 1) what are the roles of English and Japanese in the process of “internationalization”? and 2) how will it be possible to create a common platform on which literary scholars specializing in different languages can share their knowledge and experience. Finally, I would like to reconsider the ultimate question: why is it necessary to “internationalize” literary studies and what does it really mean to “internationalize”? In my view, Japanese foreign literature scholars have valid reasons for their use of Japanese when conducting their academic activities; after all, the very process of studying and understanding foreign culture while basing oneself on Japanese language and culture can be a challenging, yet highly positive cross-cultural experience which can bring about fruitful findings and new contributions. English should be actively used as a tool for communication in the international academic community of which Japanese literary scholars should be an integral part.