My Graduation Thesis Experience

Yusuke Amano
Luso-Brazilian Studies

My research was on Latin America, and I felt that what I learned dramatically expanded my own values and my perspective. For my graduation thesis, I wrote about consumption trends in Brazil, but if you look at the character of the people and their thinking toward purchases, clearly they have a very different sense than that of Japanese people, and I found that fascinating. To start with, because many of the Latin American countries are made up of diverse ethnic groups—indigenous peoples, black people, immigrants from Europe, and so on—you can consider things from various perspectives, which I think is interesting. However, when you study Latin America, there is a limited amount of literature in Japanese, so I had a hard time gathering materials for my research. But as I wrote reports and seminar papers, I gradually got used to the work, and the more I investigated, the more fascinated I became with Brazil and other Latin American countries. At the same time, I felt how important it is to learn both languages and area studies. During your university years, I think it is important that in your clubs, part-time jobs, and of course your studies, you have as many interests as possible and take on new challenges. In that respect, I think that studying Latin America broadened my perspective on the world and enriched my student life.

Faculty of Foreign Studies