International Christian University

This course surveys the religious traditions of Japan aimed at identifying and defining the most characteristic aspects of Japanese thought and belief.  It covers religion in pre-historic Japan; Shinto mythology, deities, and worship; the introduction of Buddhism; Esoteric Buddhism and Shugendo; Pure Land, Nichiren and Zen Buddhism; introduction of Christianity and Kakure Kirishitan; folk shamanism, and modern New Religions

This course introduces the history of American literature between 1492 and 1865.  

In 1620, John Winthrop pictured the Massachusetts Bay Colony as “a model of Christian charity.” In 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote down the principles of a new American nation, declaring “all men are created equal.” In 1837, Andrew Jackson ended his presidency celebrating that America was “honored and respected by every nation of the world.” 

To readers living a few centuries later, it is impossible to ignore that American “freedom” has gone hand-in-hand with the capture and enslavement of Black people, indigenous genocide and land dispossession, and inequality before the law and in the labor market for the vast majority of people. Importantly, the irony of Winthrop, Jefferson, or Jackson’s words was not lost on those living when they spoke them: political struggle has attended the development of American society, culture, and economy at every step.  Literature is a key window into the debate and bloodshed surrounding this struggle. Studying the development of language and narrative helps us to highlight the contradictions between American ideals and American reality, to understand the historical forces that produce these contradictions, and to study how everyday people try to build a better world, in the past as today.  

Working within the bounds of 1492 (the year Christopher Columbus “discovered” America) and 1865 (when the US Civil War ended), this course examines the early colonial period in the northeast and Virginia; the war for independence from Britain; the removal of the Five “Civilized” Tribes from the southeast; and the establishment, expansion, and abolition of slavery as US colonization crept westward. The course examines a range of primary source documents -- letters, journals, myths, speeches, sermons, laws, poems, songs, memoir, autobiography, confessions, and more -- to explore the early centuries of the United States. 

This course focuses on how gender is socially constructed and how it affects our daily lives meaningfully. It discusses gender roles, gender norms, gender inequality, and sexuality that may seem too natural and self-evident. This course also studies gender issues from various academic perspectives. 

This course provides an overview of the history and technological evolution of computer games, experience related technologies and project planning. Furthermore, it studies VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) technologies and addresses the future of computer games. 

The course covers the following topics: 

・History of computer games 
・Technologies of computer games 
・Academic research of computer games 
・Hardware of entertainment system 
・Computer graphics 
・Motion capture system 
・Virtual reality 
・Augmented Reality, etc. 

This course introduces archaeology as it is practiced in Japan, focusing on its concepts, methods and achievements. It traces the cultural transition of prehistoric Japan in relation to environmental change and adaptation strategy. It includes fieldwork in ICU pre-Jomon and Jomon sites.  

How has the media been incorporated into our experiences of place and culture? How do we understand our media consumption, and our dwelling and travelling experiences, and how would such an understanding help us make sense of the increasingly globalizing world in which we live?  

This course explores the role the media play in deterritorialized, global and multicultural contexts. It first introduces two key approaches to media globalization, cultural imperialism paradigm and cultural globalization thesis, and considers how the production, circulation and consumption of global entertainment media have shaped the ways we understand both domestic and foreign cultures. It then examines a range of contemporary cultural phenomena such as cultural migrants, diaspora, media representation of minority, etc. and considers how such phenomena are concerned with critical issues in relation to globalization, identity formation and the shaping of our sense of place. 
 
A range of media texts (e.g. movies, television programs) will serve as exemplars to be analyzed in the lecture and discussion, in order to help students grasp the key concepts of relevant theories. 

This course examines the impact of religion, culture, and identity on global politics. International Relations (IR) conventionally refers to relations between sovereign states in an anarchic world. The sovereign state is assumed to be the natural political community of humankind and to command the allegiance of those subject to its rule. The culture, identity and religion of states are not conventionally considered relevant to how states interact with other states.  

However, since the events of September 11, 2001 (9/11), there has been renewed interest in culture, religion, and identity in global politics. The resultant US-led ‘War on Terror’ have reinforced the importance of religion to collective identities and rekindled the specter of a ‘clash of civilizations’ (Huntington 1996) pitting a Judeo-Christian West against a resurgent Islamic civilization. Echoes of the clash of civilizations but can be found in the policies of the Israeli state under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu towards Gaza after the attacks of October 7, 2023, by Hamas and in the policies towards migrants from Muslim majority states in the US under (ex) President Donald Trump and in many European Union (EU) states. In India, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under Prime Minister Narendra Modi views Islam as a threat to India's national identity based on "Hindutva" (Hindu values). Religion has moved from the margins of global politics to its center-stage.  

But did it really go away? The modern international order instituted in Westphalia in 1648 was itself an attempt to contain religious and cultural conflict in Europe. How will the increasing resurgence of the non-western world and China and India in particular transform global politics? Will the eclipse of the West lead to a 'post-western' (Shani 2008) or 'global' (Acharya 2014, Acharya and Buzan 2020) IR? And will it be 'post-secular'? (Habermas 2008, Mavelli and Petito 2012, Shani 2014)? 

The course discusses these questions with reference to a series of historical and contemporary case studies in global politics. These will include Human Rights in the EU, the global "War on Terror," and Religious Nationalism in South Asia. 

This course provides the opportunity to examine the cultural aspects of human movement, as well as how to express human emotion through movement. The class includes activities such as rhythm and dance, social dance, Nihon-minzoku buyo ('Japanese folk dance'), and creative Wadaiko (Japanese style drumming). 

This course delves into matrix algebra, calculus (including differentiation and integration), and introductory optimization techniques, all of which are essential in the social sciences, particularly economics and finance. The primary focus of the course lies in mathematical analysis via programming with Octave. The course employs Octave (the free version of Matlab) to facilitate both analytical calculations and simulations.  

The course does not assume that students have prior proficiency in calculus or programming and will start from the basics, progressing to the theoretical application of calculus, notably optimization. This term, we will emphasize studying static optimization using the Lagrange method. Optimization theory serves as the cornerstone of economics and finance.  

For anyone interested in economics, finance, and programming, this course will be invaluable. 

This course presents special advanced studies in selected areas of Gender and Queer Theory. It aims to strengthen students' knowledge of Gender and Sexuality Studies from the philosophical and aesthetical points of view, as well as their knowledge of Gender and Queer Studies from a historical and a thematic perspective (with a special interest in the French Theory).