Hitotsubashi University

This course is for students to learn intermediate-level Chinese (grade 2-3 of the HSK proficiency test or 3-4 class level). The main aim is to improve listening skills by hearing a lot of basic examples. Through HSK-style exercises, students familiarize themselves with the HSK test format. The first and last lessons include a simulated HSK grade-3 test as an indicator of each student's progress. Each lesson also includes a vocabulary quiz. Text: "CHUGOKUO LISTENING DOJO" by Masahiro Endo et al. published from Asahi Shuppan. Assessment: class attendance, participation, and a final exam.

The unit of analysis of the seminar is the world's population, which has grown to seven billion today. It is projected to reach nine to ten billion by 2050. From this global perspective, this interdisciplinary and inter-professional seminar debates two contested propositions. First, there now exists a global society, defined by the increasing scope, depth, and accumulation of interdependencies of the world's diverse peoples. Although people are divided by religion, culture, language, national, ethnic, and tribal loyalties as well as by race, gender, class, and status, they confront shared socio-economic, political, environmental, and moral challenges. Problems of central human concern, such as war, sustainable economic development, environmental degradation, human rights, popular rule, etc. must now be navigated at local, state, regional, and transnational levels. This seminar discusses and debates the properties of the global society, aspects of globalization, and the ability of humans to collectively govern and resolve shared problems on a worldwide scale. Assessment: class participation, class presentation and leading discussion; 4 one-page mini-papers.

In this class we read, in English translation, the works of two of the most prominent, internationally-acclaimed contemporary Japanese authors: Yoko Tawada and Haruki Murakami. The first half of the semester is spent reading the award-winning English translation of Yoko Tawada's novella, The Emissary. Tawada's work presents, with a touch of humor as well as pathos, a dystopian vision of Japan in the near future, in which the country is damaged almost beyond repair as a result of large-scale nuclear contamination, its people and language evolving in unexpected directions. The class then reads Jay Rubin's translations of Haruki Murakami's short stories, likely starting with "On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful Morning". Each text is discussed with a focus on rhetorical play and cultural representation, with occasional reference to the Japanese texts. Proficiency in Japanese is not required, but those studying the language are highly encouraged to read the original texts, either in advance or during the semester. English-Japanese dictionaries will come extremely handy for anyone.

Listening and speaking skills using basic grammar and intermediate level are taught. Intermediate Japanese 1B is a course for those who have accomplished a primary course and are aiming for higher writing and reading skills. Students learn kanji of middle level, and read more sentences as well. Assessment: final presentation (30%), midterm presentation (25%), mini presentation (20%), homework (10%), attendance (5%).

This course is for students who have learned Japanese for 300 hours at a university and mastered basic level vocabulary, grammar, and approximately 300 kanji. The purpose is to learn lower intermediate level (equivalent to Japanese Proficiency Test Level 3) vocabulary, grammar and kanji, and to become able to communicate in Japanese in a variety of situations. Assessment: Homework (20%), exams (50%), participation (30%).

This course advances reading and analysis skills of various kind of college-level materials. Through reading materials thoroughly, vocabulary is expanded while learning new phrases, expressions and advanced grammar patters. In order to better understand what they read, students practice to summarize a paragraph through finding key words and the main idea of the paragraph, then discuss it with peer students Critical thinking is fostered as students learn to relate, analyze and evaluate of each reading material. Assessment: attendance and participation (60%), quizzes (40%).

This course offers an overview of film and visual culture in Japan by discussing a wide range of topics, including film studios and stars, queer authorship and spectatorship, new wave and technology, as well as representation of sexual minorities. The course examines the history and theory surrounding these topics, to facilitate thinking about how images play an important role in both reflecting and understanding contemporary cultural, political, and social issues. With a particular focus on gender, sexuality, nationality, and labor, the course presents ways to closely analyze films in terms of content, style, and form.

This course trains for advanced reading skills, including grammar and vocabulary, needed to understand academic texts in the social science field. In addition, the courses trains to understand the material based on the difficulty and purpose of the text.