This is just a post to say that I am utterly shocked by the double standards between history and literature students in my field/department/university. I knew they existed based on a colleague’s experiences, and my own limited experiences with a history student last year, but I cannot fathom how a third year history phD can survive if they can’t read the fucking language. Clearly, I chose wrong going the literature route, if this level of understanding, i.e. a complete lack of it, is all that’s expected of English-speaking students studying Japan. JFC.
