Japan

This course aims to understand the current situation, problems, and challenges of the Korean economy. As the population demographics in Korea changes into an aging society, economists are warning that Korea may experience a long recession like Japan’s lost decades. This course discusses various aspects of the Korean economy by examining the data of the following economic variables: GDP, GDP per capita, income disparity, demography, inflation rate, unemployment rate, interest rates, policy interest rate, money, monetary base, household debts, flow of fund, government budget, government debt, balance of payments, current account balance, trade balance, net foreign asset, and corporate earnings. 

Demons, ghosts, and monsters have populated the cultural landscape in Japan for centuries. Appearing in anime, manga, games, and movies, mysterious creatures continue to form the core of contemporary popular culture, sparking a global obsession with Japanese monsters. This course explores the cultural history of the strange and supernatural in Japanese literary, visual, and performing arts. Engaging with primary and critical sources from the eighth century to the present, it considers the social roles that representations of “the weird” have played in Japan.

The growth in computational power and availability of all sorts of data has led society to become bombarded with a variety of statistics. How much of this information is trustworthy, how much is noise - and how might it affect one’s decision-making? 
 
This course looks at the mathematical foundations of probability and randomness, and how they inform our understanding of how real-world data may be generated. Next, the course discusses what statistics are; how they are generated; when they are meaningful and when they are not. In parallel with theoretical study, the class will utilize statistical software to get a practical understanding of data processing and statistical analysis. 
 

Database systems are the most widely used software systems in any area of life related to mainly information technology, management, business as well as web applications and services. This course first introduces the fundamental concepts of databases and their design. Then, it introduces database operations like updating and searching in database systems, as well as the newest database types and systems. 

The course covers the following topics: 

• Introduction to databases and their types 

• Introducing the modeling of data and introducing database management systems 

• Introducing the relational model 

• Understanding the basics in database design 

• Learning the steps of normalization 

• Advanced normalization 

• Understanding relational algebra  

• Introducing the Standard Query Language (SQL) 

• Using SQL 

• Advanced database operations: transactions, triggers etc. 

• Using databases in Web applications or in Web services 

• Object-oriented databases 

• Introducing new database solutions and new systems for handling BigData 

• Understanding the concepts and usage of several NOSQL type database systems 

• NOSQL type Database systems 

• How to use these database systems for storing, searching and analyzing BigData 

• Programming with NOSQL databases to create new applications from web-services to data mining and handling BigData 

This course is designed for beginners of Japanese or those who have only studied Japanese for a very short time. Students learn basic expressions to interact in Japanese to carry out conversations about familiar everyday topics. The course covers language revolving around greetings, introductions, family members, food, home, daily routines, making appointments, hobbies, holidays, shopping, and asking for directions.

In addition to the 160 basic kanji characters taught in K150, this course instructs how to read, write, and type 160 new characters, aiming to provide various methods of kanji learning, thereby expanding students' vocabulary of words that contain kanji. It focuses on teaching kanji for food, hobbies, family, school, adjectives, verbs, works, etc. 
 

Eligibility: Students who have learned about 160 kanji characters and are at least A1 level in the CEFR/JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education (N5 in the JLPT).
 

This course studies the history of the 20th century global movement before World War II, which influenced global politics. Students are expected to examine a historical case of a local movement crossing over to global politics. 
 

This course explores the process and mechanism of the economic development of modern East Asia from the 19th century to the present. East Asia, which includes Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Korean Peninsula, is a rarity in that it has succeeded in economic catch-up with Western European and North American developed countries in the 20th and 21st centuries. This course highlights the relationships and interactions between the countries in the region. 

This course analyzes the emergence and constructions of hybrid and transcultural cultures and identities in Spanish American societies, mainly through some of the fundamental texts that were produced in the 20th and 21st centuries. It examines where and how we can observe hybrid and transcultural phenomena in the texts and the meaning of each phenomenon within a specific socio-historic and political context.  

This course contemplates the following key questions: What significance does a hybrid and transcultural phenomenon have within the context of Spanish America? How can one define and interpret hybridity and transculturation? What are the principal factors that contribute to the production of hybrid and transcultural cultures and identities? What is the process of hybridization and transculturation?  

The course is designed for students to improve their reading and writing skills focusing on variety of patterns of simple and compound sentences applying basic writing skills. The goal is to improve clarity and cohesion in sentence writing.