Doshisha University

This course focuses on explaining social and cultural phenomena to accurately understand Japanese society today. It focuses on topics such as family, gender, education, friendships, work/labor, and political/social movements. Audiovisual materials will be utilized. 

To understand the complex and multifaceted reality unique to Japanese society, students will broaden their horizons and acquire a comprehensive and comparative perspective on society as a whole.

This course introduces the culture of Japanese gardens, focusing on the main philosophical values, styles, aesthetics, and landscape design principles through history. By doing specific activities, writing assignments and oral presentations, the course increases knowledge and the meaning of what has been learned from interactions and shared experiences. Comparisons with historical gardens examples in other cultures and a study-tour to relevant Japanese gardens located inside or around Kyoto City are planned to strengthen final debates and discussions as well as to help the formation of group research projects for final evaluation. 

Hangul is the name of the alphabet used to write the Korean language.  This course begins by learning the letters and pronunciation of modern Korean, as well as grammar points such as polite expressions that correspond to "desu, masu" in Japanese; designates that are roughly equivalent to the English be verb; existential verbs that express presence or absence of objects; interjections; proper number words; negative expressions, and past tense. 

No prior knowledge is required to take the course, but students are recommended to study the letters and pronunciation thoroughly, especially during the first month. 

By the end of this course, students are expected to write a simple diary during summer vacation.

This course is taught by three instructors, Takahashi, Nakato, and Kajiwara, in an omnibus format. 
 

Takahashi's class introduces the themes, 'Japanese culture around oneself' and 'language.' This covers topics such as 'temples and shrines in Kyoto;' 'food culture,' 'Japanese houses; 'Japanese people and animals,' etc. In the 'language' section, students learn about 'onomatopoeia,' 'kanji, tongue twisters, and proverbs,' as well as 'Folktales,'  aiming to deepen their understanding of Japanese culture and language.　

Nakato's class focuses on 'Japanese makeup culture and color sense' and 'Japanese innovation and pop culture,' deepening one's understanding of Japanese culture through a comparison of past and present. 

Kajiwara's section revolves around the instructor's own experience revolving around 'Japanese rice,' 'the charm of the countryside,' and 'hot springs.' Additionally, the class aims to enhance understanding of Japanese culture through comparisons with other countries.

This course explores past and present wars of the United States, especially the relationship of the news media to those wars. Through the illustrated textbook "Addicted to War" and documentary films, the course takes a critical view of how the US has become a military superpower and why it cannot "kick" its war addiction today.　

The advancement of information technology (IT) has rapidly changed our way of life. While IT encompasses technologies such as television and telephones, it commonly refers to computers and computer networks. 　　
　　
This course is intended for students with no or very little background in computers and will provide the basics of computers and computer networks. The students will acquire knowledge about basic software that would be required in an academic setting (i.e., word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software). In class and homework exercises will allow students to get a hands-on experience with various software. 　　
　　

<Level V>
Target Students: Those who have partially completed intermediate level studies.
Course Goals: To develop understanding and command of the 200 important intermediate sentence patterns for further improvement of the four skills of reading, listening, speaking, and writing. To master the 6,000 basic words and 1,000 to 1,200 basic Chinese characters.

<General 1-5>
Goal: To develop balanced, intermediate-level proficiency in reading, listening, speaking, and writing.
Contents: Learning the 100 important intermediate sentence patterns and vocabulary and improving reading comprehension with an upper intermediate level textbook. Developing command of intermediate Japanese through short sentence composition exercises. Mastering the points learned at the intermediate level to proceed to the advanced level smoothly. Increasing vocabulary by learning both the words introduced in the textbook as well as additional related words.
Improving the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing by understanding the textbook and exchanging opinions on it.

Is Classical Literature foolish?

Not at all. Love for others is the same today as it was in the past, in the East and in the West. The feeling of cherishing one’s family and friends is the same as the feeling of being moved by the beauty of nature in all four seasons. This course introduces the joys, sorrows, and impressions of the people of the past, while imagining the minds of the ancients, and incorporating classic literary works such as waka poems, stories, and essays. This course also confirms that that spirit has not changed, by introducing appropriate contemporary songs.　

<Level V>
Target Students: Those who have partially completed intermediate level studies.
Course Goals: To develop understanding and command of the 200 important intermediate sentence patterns for further improvement of the four skills of reading, listening, speaking, and writing. To master the 6,000 basic words and 1,000 to 1,200 basic Chinese characters.

<Reading Comprehension A>
Goal: To understand slightly complex passages and sentence structures.
Contents: Reading of upper intermediate level passages on current topics, such as newspaper articles.

<Level VII>
Target Students: Those who have completed and mastered intermediate level studies.
Course Goals: To master the 200 important intermediate sentence patterns and develop understanding and command of the 100 important advanced sentence patterns for further improvement of the four skills of reading, listening, speaking, and writing. To master the 10,000 basic words and 2,000 basic Chinese characters.

<Oral Expression B>
Goal: To develop oral expression skills for dialogues such as discussion or debates.
Contents: Conducting discussions and debates on various themes.