Japan

This course is designed for students learning Japanese for the first time. The course focuses on the acquisition of grammar and sentence patterns based on the textbook Elementary Japanese for Academic Purposes Vol.1 (Lesson 1 to 6). Students must understand hiragana before taking this course.

This course deals with the basics of mathematical finance. The goals are to understand Option Trading and Portfolio Theory.

Prerequisite: Calculus I, II, Linear Algebra I, II, Sets and Topology I, and Probability Theory.

This course emphasizes hands-on laboratory experience and teaches students research background, relevant theories, and basic laboratory techniques relevant to their field of study. Students formulate a research plan, implement it by conducting experiment-based research, and convey the results in scholarly presentations. Students submit a written research report at the end of the course.

This course is essentially a course in what is known as cultural (or cross-cultural) psychology. Cultural psychology is a subfield of psychology that emerged in the late 20th century as a response to the historic dominance of the Western--primarily, American--perspective in psychology. Of note, Japanese researchers played and continue to play a critical role in this field, as strong Japan-America ("Nichi-Bei") academic cooperation allows for easy comparisons and collaborations. But cultural psychology is much bigger than any two particular countries or cultures. Each and every society, and the societies within those societies, all contain powerful cultures that affect the very fabric of our thoughts, emotions, behaviors. In other words, we will look at the cultural roots of our beautiful and indispensable human diversity--the whole world over.

In addition to the topics mentioned in the basic description of the curriculum (perceptual and cognitive processes, human development, language, gender, social behavior, intercultural relations, and applied cultural psychology), we will examine the nature of culture itself. Throughout the course, we try to keep in mind big questions such as "What really is culture?" and "Why do human beings even have culture in the first place?" For more information on the kind of topics we will cover, please see the course textbook, "Cultural Psychology" by Steven Heine. Note, however, that topics will be organically updated to reflect current cultural issues and student interests.

Cognitive psychology is a branch of psychology that regards humans as information processing systems and aims to study its mechanism by the scientific method of measurement and observation. This course instructs on how basic human cognitive activities (e.g. perception, memory, learning, language comprehension, attention, etc.) are examined, from classic research methods to the latest research technology, such as functional magnetic resonance brain imaging.

This course provides research training for students through the experience of belonging to a specific laboratory at the University of Tokyo. Students carry out an original research project under the guidance of assigned faculty members. Through a full-time commitment, students will be able to improve their research skills by applying the basic principles and knowledge from the literature related to the research questions, and by developing the skills to collect, interpret, and critique data in order to resolve a research question or evaluate a design for a research project. At the conclusion of the program, students submit their final work (paper, presentation, report etc.) as instructed by their lab supervisors

This course examines the “pre-modern period” of Japan from its origins in the Jomon Period through to the end of the 16th century. It focuses on the emergence of the imperial state, court rulership, and the rise of the warrior class. Though dominated by the rulership, religions, and lifestyles of courtiers and warriors, this course also explores the cultural context within which elites, commoners, and those in between lived and prospered. The approach is thus primarily socio-cultural, aiming to enhance the student’ understanding not only of the Japan of the past, but also of the present. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with the most important aspects of the classical Heian age, the dual (or tripartite) polity of Kamakura, the warrior rule of the Muromachi era, and the subsequent era of civil warfare.

This course examines politics revolving around historical issues. What is national history? Why can it be a source of political conflict? What is needed to reconcile historical disputes? These questions are explored through the examination of Asian and European cases. 

This course is designed to deepen students' understanding of the history of economics after the Marginal Revolution. The purpose of these lectures is to encourage participants to look at the development of economics from the viewpoint of history and theory, in order to understand modern economics from a different perspective. This course covers the Marginal Revolution and the historical development of microeconomics. Students are required to have basic knowledge of micro- as well as macroeconomics. Some mathematical reformulations are introduced in the lectures, but they are elementary and can be understood easily. Evaluations will be based on midterm and final papers.

In this class, two instructors, Paie and Takagishi, will teach "Japanese culture" in an omnibus format.　
　
Paie’s classes introduce Shinto and Zen Buddhism, the foundation of the Japanese way of thinking and spirituality. The course provides an overview of Shinto; its origin; relationship with Japanese lifestyle, and tradition of festivals. In addition, the course makes the connection between Shinto and martial arts, introducing Sumo and Aikido as Shinto martial arts. Furthermore, the course provides an overview of Japanese Zen Buddhism – the culture, the history and thought of Zen words and Zen paintings. Students will have a zazen experience with a priest from Rinzai and learn the characteristics of Japanese culture through these experiences.　

Takagishi's classes focus on the themes, "Japanese culture around me," "pop culture," and "language." The life of the founder of Doshisha, Jo Nijima, is traced through the themes, “Japanese culture around me,” “Kyoto festivals and events,” “Japanese kimono and culture,” and the “founding spirit of Doshisha.” "Pop Culture" deals with "Japanese Manga and Anime" and "Japanese Popular Songs" traces the history of popular songs from the post-war era to the present. By studying the Kansai dialect and young people's language, which are used in the city and on campus as "languages," students will notice the differences from the standard language; learn about the mechanism by which young people's words are created, and the way of thinking of young people in Japan. Through the introduction to various aspects of Japanese culture previously mentioned, students will deepen their understanding of modern Japanese culture.