This is the English blog and discussion forum for Dr. Hamilton Armstrong's Winter 2010 Women in the News class at the Open College of Ferris University in Yokohama, Japan. Please follow along and join our discussion as we talk about women making news in Japan and the world.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Week Three- The Role of First Lady/South Korean Women Speak Out!

The First Lady of France, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, is a super-model turned singer.

The First Lady of Russia is Svetlana Medvedeva . Here is a link to a very interesting article about her and Russian First Ladies:
http://www.luxemag.org/jet-set/svetlana-medvedeva.html

Here is a very interesting interview that Miyuki Hatoyama gave in English to the Washington Post regarding her role and message to women:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126090616313792481.html

What do you think of her opinions?

Words of Today include: wimp, "halo effect", telegenic, photogenic, thin/thick-skinned.

What do you know about South Korean culture in terms of attitudes toward working women?

Week Two- Speaking of Depression

We discussed depression and how women may perceive inner or outer-directed anger or stress.

This led to a good discussion of pets and animal care.

Words used in  the discussion were: heredity, tranquilizer, anti-depressant, psychiatry, psychology, fickle, neutered, spayed, "fixed," and castrated.