International Christian University

Is Japan a racially and ethnically homogenous nation? Why is it that only a certain kind of "hafu" (multiracial) are on TV programs and ads? Why has Japan been ranked around the 120s in the Global Gender Equality Index, year after year? How could a prime minister claim that the “society would change, regrettably” (“shakai ga kawatteshimau”) with legal recognition of same-sex marriage in 21st-century Japan? Why are many female high school students in Japan wearing short skirts in the middle of winter, even in freezing temperatures? What is "karoshi" and why does it happen? Japan, the only country bombed by an atomic bomb in the world, has not yet joined the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons yet - why is this? Is Japan a part of the West or Asia? 

Sociology helps one understand the underlying factors of these questions. This course introduces you to the major aspects of contemporary Japanese society. The course investigates: race and ethnicity; gender and sexuality; education; work and the economy, and politics and nationalism. Through these sociological themes, one should be able to comprehend concrete social issues associated, such as: hate speech and racial discrimination; sexual violence and discrimination; gender tracking and class division in education; visible and invisible foreign workers; and the increasing militarization of society.

This course provides an overview pre-modern Chinese history up to the Opium War. Lectures will cover such topics as the Golden Age of Chinese Classics; the Han Unification; the arrival of Buddhism; the new empires under the Tang and Sung dynasties; the takeover by the Mongols; the rise and decline of the Ming dynasty, and the eastern encounter with the West.

 

This course provides a general introduction to medical anthropology. It first focuses on how humans have biologically adapted to diseases in their environment; then it examines the multiple ways in which medicine, illness, healing, and mental illness are conceived in different societies. The purpose of the course is to demonstrate the diversity of medical practices to understand the socio-cultural aspect of medicine in general. 

An introduction to environmental studies, this course covers what the environment is; what kind of situation we are currently in, and how one's daily life influences the environment in the local and global scale. The course presents the basic system structure of the environment and current efforts of balancing human well-being and environment.

This course aims to help students learn spoken and written Japanese for academic purposes through a variety of familiar topics about society and culture. The target level is CEFR B1.1. Prerequisite: “J3:Japanese” or equivalent. Ten class hours/week. 

By the end of the course, students will be able to:
express their idea and understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters, 
exchange information, and understand and convey one’s feelings and intentions.

This course explores the important roles media play in our everyday life, and considers a wide range of issues, including (but are not limited to): 
How do we incorporate various forms of media into our daily lives? 
How does media influence our perceptions of ourselves, others, and society?
What is so “new” about “new media”? 
What is so “social” about social media?
Why does media matter? 

This course provides an opportunity to reflect critically on one's media use, and helps them investigate the relationships between media, individuals, and society. 

Globally, regional governance at both the transnational and national levels demonstrates that new forms of governance are being explored to meet the needs of states in various regional groupings. NAFTA and the EU represent regional governance that transects politics, economics and security. In contrast, initiatives such as the Kita-Kyushu Initiative are demonstrative on non-state regional governance to meet local needs. This course discusses regional governance from a comparative and multi-tiered perspective by investigating regional governance at the transnational state level and non-state level. Empirical cases studies related to economic, political, traditional, and non-traditional security will be employed to develop students' understanding of regional governance, especially within an East Asian context.

East Asia is the most economically dynamic, strategically significant, and politically significant region on the planet. In addition, the budding regionalism, along with the rise of China, ensures that the region will be a more crucial influence on international relations. The main aim of this course is to explore whether East Asia is heading towards greater peaceful and cooperative region, or of a war- and conflict-oriented region. This is to be carried out: 1) by delving into the theorization of regionalism in world politics; 2) by examining the weights of history of East Asia; 3) by exploring the distinctive character and evolution of the regionalism of East Asia, and 4) by investigating the prospects for the development of a more unified East Asia region in the context of the unique historical circumstances under that China is experiencing its remarkable rise over the last few decades.