Dr. Melek Ortabasi earns fellowship from the Japan Foundation

The Department of World Languages and Literatures is pleased to congratulate Dr. Melek Ortabasi on earning a prestigious fellowship from the Japan Foundation for Japanese Studies research in Japan.

The $50,000 fellowship supports innovative research on Japanese culture with the aim of promoting Japanese culture overseas. This fellowship is granted annually to only a handful of Canadian recipients.

From Fall 2021, Kanagawa University in Yokohama, Japan will host Ortabasi for the academic year as she conducts research for her current book project, tentatively entitled, "A World of Friends: The Transnational Story of Modern Japanese Children’s Literature, 1870-1930."

Ortabasi says she is honoured to receive the fellowship and is excited for the opportunity to travel for her research.

"After over a year of not having access to Interlibrary Loan, I'm really looking forward to visiting the National Diet Library in Tokyo to get my hands on rare materials I can't access here in Canada."