Abstract:

The new challenges for the higher education area have been always regarded not only as problems and set of new obstacles but also as an opportunity for institutional and individual growth. Hereby we present a case study of an integrated method for teaching literature and culture in favor of personality evolution. Based on the conscious education method we examine the possibility for maximum effect in the process of teaching and learning aiming at the development of student’s personality. The Japanese philosopher and playwright Motokiyo Zeami speaks of “reaching the full bloom” when acquiring skills. Over 500 years later Malcolm Gladwell defines the 10 000 hour rule. Foreign language teaching nowadays speaks of flipped classrooms, holistic approaches, integrated curriculum, inter-cultural communication and 21st century skills.

The Japanese Studies Department at Sofia University has been eagerly following the trends of innovation in 21st century. Combining Eastern and Western educational traditions we pursue to promote personal development of students in tune with a conscious education approach to environment and society. We present the results of a research project conducted in 2022 on the premises of Sofia University and involving 20 students from bachelor, master and doctoral courses, as well as ten tutors with diverse fields of expertise. The project was based on one of the most popular contemporary Japanese authors – Haruki Murakami (b. 1949) and his novel Kafka on the Shore (2002). The project takes 6 days of “immersion” in the world of Murakami, during which students and teachers aim at developing awareness and understanding of interconnectivity of all elements in a system. We describe the educational process and the results – desired and achieved, and evaluate the effectiveness of conscious education approach. We verified various activities - team and individual, interactive and contemplative, practical and theoretical, communicative and passive, and by bringing together language, culture, philosophy, anthropology and other related fields we searched for a new approach in educating personalities adaptive to present day challenges. The format of the teaching process takes place in an informal environment - away from the daily routine both for students and teachers, and forms a provocative environment for intrapersonal awakening.

The results are applicable for the educational process of young people to widen their professional perspectives and individual realization.

We hope the suggested methodology is applicable not only in the field of foreign language and literature teaching (and education in general), but also in reevaluating personal development paths.

Keywords:

Literature, education, contextual interconnections, inter- and intra textual analysis, foreign language teaching, personality evolution.