English Professor Receives Fulbright to Teach in Tokyo

University of Mississippi English professor David Galef has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to teach in Japan.

Galef plans to travel to Tokyo in April to spend four months, accompanied by his wife, Beth Weinhouse, and 12-year-old son, Daniel. He is scheduled to teach at SophiaUniversity and Japan Women’s University, lecturing on
20th-century science fiction and the modern America short story.

“The Japanese are eager to learn everything they can about American culture, so I’m really looking forward to teaching over there,” Galef said.

Dr. David Galef

Galef, who has been teaching at UM for 18 years, earned his bachelor’s degree in English and creative writing from Princeton University in 1981. He then spent a year in Osaka, Japan, teaching English as a second language. In 1982, he returned to the U.S. and completed his doctorate in English at Columbia University in 1989.

“I’ve always wanted to go back to Japan, but it’s always been one thing or another,” he said. “Now just seems like the right time.” Galef said that he and his family look forward to learning about the country’s culture. In
preparation for the trip, they are taking lessons in Japanese.

“I am delighted that David Galef has received a Fulbright grant,” said Ann Fisher-Wirth, professor of English, who traveled to Switzerland and Sweden as Fulbright Scholar. “A highly accomplished professor and writer, and a very congenial colleague, David will offer his students a lot,
and I know he and his family will have a great time.”

“As someone already knowledgeable about Japanese culture and the Japanese language, David is ideally suited to teach students there, as well as to learn a great deal from them,” said Kathryn McKee, associate professor of English and former Fulbright Scholar to Germany. “Several
other English department faculty members have also received Fulbrights, and I think we all returned to Oxford energized by our international experiences and excited to share them with our students.”

Galef has published 13 books, including two books of Japanese translations: “Even Monkeys Fall from Trees, and Other Japanese Proverbs” and “Even a Stone Buddha Can Talk: More Wit and Wisdom of Japanese Proverbs.”

Some 800 U.S. faculty and other professionals travel abroad each year through the Fulbright Scholar Program. Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the program is intended to build mutual understanding between Americans and the rest of the world.

Sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. State Department, the program has exchanged more than a quarter-million scholars in over 150 countries worldwide. Recipients are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.

For more information about the Fulbright Scholars Program, visit http://www.cies.org/about_fulb.htm.

For more information about the UM Department of English, go to http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/english/