Japanese

The course offers a solid basis of the Italian language, beginning from its phonetics and fundamental grammar. The course begins with students becoming familiar with names; their number and gender; articles; verb grammar (present and past), and pronouns. The study then progresses through conversation, games and the production of simple texts.

The course teaches correct application of the basics of Italian language; focuses on apprehending expressions used in everyday context, and instructs on beginner level reading comprehension.

The 'Gothic novel', which originated in mid-18th-century England, took the world by storm as a form of weird and terrifying fiction reflecting the medieval taste of the time. There were many variations, and the most common in the early years were bizarre adventure stories, such as the tale of a maiden locked in an old castle and the young man who rescues her. Other typical variations include tales of a wise man who sells his soul to the devil and falls into hell; tales of an artificial man such as Frankenstein; tales of a man who transforms into a monster such as Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde; vampire tales such as Dracula, and many other types. Furthermore, up to the present day, the Gothic tale continues to be reproduced and re-created in a variety of media, not limited to the novel, while further diversifying. The mystery novel, a significant genre, is one of the tributaries that branched off from the Gothic novel.

English Literature 7 and 8 traces the Gothic novel's development over a year. This course is the first half, which will begin with the beginnings of the Gothic novel in the 18th century, the medieval taste that formed its background, and the establishment of a new tourism culture. Then it moves on to the new developments of the Gothic novel in the 19th century and its relationship to psychic studies of the same period.

This course closely examines the historical, social and cultural backgrounds of several works of German-language literature from Prague and studies how these are expressed in literature. 

Upon completion, students acquire basic knowledge about the society and culture of the German-speaking area of ​​Prague and reconsider various issues that can be gleaned from literary works of that time as issues that still apply to the present day.

This is a seminar course focusing on developing future leaders of domestic and international business. Through seminar-style dialogue with alumni association members, the course is designed for students to deepen their practical understanding of the work and the industry while helping students form their own career views. By interacting with alumni association members, students also have better understanding of Japanese business culture, ethic, and challenges that Japanese companies are facing.  The class is divided into a group of 10-15 people depending on topics discussed. 

This course covers the minimum, basic abilities in conversation and reading/writing necessary for everyday life in Japan. 

Eligibility: Students who have studied no Japanese. Students who will be eligible for C250b/c after taking C150.  

Learning Objectives: A1 level in the CEFR/JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education. 

By the end of this course, students are expected to: 

 ・ Understand and correctly use basic greetings and set phrases.

 ・ Speak about things around you and interact with others using combinations of simple phrases.

 ・ Understand simple informative texts and brief passages about familiar topics.

In the Heian period, stories such as "The Tale of Genji" are often set in the harem, deep within the Heian-kyo Imperial Palace, and often feature the empresses and the crown prince who lived there. Knowing the life of the women who lived in the harem is very useful for interpreting Heian period stories. 

This course aims to deepen one's understanding of works depicting the harem of the Heian period, such as "The Tale of Utsubo" and "The Tale of Genji," after learning basic knowledge about the harem of the Heian period. This course focuses the life of the princess after entering the palace and compares historical examples found in "The Tale of Eiga" and "Okagami" as well as descriptions of stories mainly in "The Tale of Genji."  Furthermore, the course focuses not only on the women but also on the parental affections and political intentions of the aristocratic male fathers who acted as their guardians.

This course surveys the basic content and methodology of contemporary psychology. While psychology as a scientific and humanistic enterprise is the underlying theme of the course, the field of psychology is approached from the perspective of its contribution to solving many problems facing society at large.  

"I want to make people laugh, but it's too difficult." "Everyone else is laughing, but I don't find it funny."... Are these difficulties related to "humor" due to personal preference, language ability, or socio-cultural background? This course explores thinking about the Japanese language and culture using funny stories, learning about the differences and commonalities between Japan's and other countries' senses of humor through comparing with other cultures and translation activities. (This course is conducted in Japanese.) 

Eligibility A2.1 level in the CEFR/JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education (N3 in the JLPT). 

Learning Objectives 

-Deepen understanding of the Japanese language, culture, and values. 

-Deepen understanding of the language, culture, and values of the students' home countries and regions. 

-Cooperate with Japanese and international students in group work and group presentations. 

-Improve communication skills in Japanese. 

To learn about the fundamental properties of life, this course addresses concepts in macroscopic (Ecology, Evolution and Ethology) and microscopic (Cells, DNA) aspects of biology. The purpose of this course is to deepen an understanding to the question of “What does it mean for an organism to be alive?” and to use this understanding as a starting point for expanding one’s thinking about their own existence as a living thing.  

The course covers the following topics:
1) What is science, and what is biology?
2) Cells, the basic unit of all organisms
3) The world of DNA and the mechanism of heredity
4) How does DNA research and analysis technology relate to us?
5) Evolution and Diversity of Life.
6) Life around us - Can we live on Earth with other living things?

This course provides training to acquire skills necessary for writing academic reports and papers. In class, each student chooses a theme, writes a report, and conducts peer review of these reports.