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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hello,</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My name is George Stey and I am a second year
graduate student pursuing an MA in East Asian Studies at the Ohio State
University. I have been on the list for several years now, but this is my
first post.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I have just returned from a year abroad at Waseda
University and am about to start applying to PhD programs as I finish my
MA. I was hoping I might ask for everyone's advice as to which schools
and programs I should look into. My interests include Japanese
film, film realism, and Japanese animation and manga. I am now in the
preliminary stages of writing my thesis on realism in Japanese animation,
undeniably formalistic in nature. I would like to continue my studies
of Japanese film and Japan in a relevant program, whether Film Studies, Media
Studies, East Asian Languages and Literatures, East Asian Studies,
etc.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Both my undergraduate major GPA (Japanese with
honors and research distinction) as well as my graduate GPA are 4.0, so I would
very much like to apply to the best programs possible. Also an issue is
funding; I was lucky to receive grants, scholarships, and two Foreign
Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships until this point in my
education and would very much like to find some sort of funding for my PhD
level work as well, be it scholarship, teaching assistantship, or research
assistantship.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Which are the best schools and programs that I
might apply to? Any advice would be very much appreciated.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thank you very much.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>George Stey</FONT></DIV>
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