Meiji Gakuin University

This course introduces non-law students to international law rules, dispute resolution institutions, and procedures. The course is composed of theoretical and practical elements to help students with no previous legal knowledge familiarize themselves with various underlying issues of international law.  Class activities include reading cases; redacting simple legal documents, and participating in mock trials (dependent on class number/size). 

This course examines the nature and workings of the American political economy and society. To achieve a well-balanced understanding of the country in the context of the globalized world, it  studies the United States by comparing it to other industrialized democracies of North America, Europe, and Oceania. The course seeks to understand the interplay among politics, the economy, and society and its effects on the economy and the well-being of citizens.

Through weekly readings and class discussions, this course considers how individual bodies are gendered and how gender is constructed in individual bodies. The course explores how social norms strongly construct gendered bodies, thus generating problems, and delves into possibilities to change the norms related to bodies.  Lecture topics vary, but may include problem's created by women's beauty work; radical feminist perspectives from the 1960s through today; why do many women wear makeup; and how to resist gendered norms of body. 

This course examines the history of social movements in Japan from the 1940s to the 1990s. By focusing on the formation and transformation of “good citizenship” in the political discourse of postwar Japan, and by introducing several key Japanese intellectuals’ discourses on democracy and modernity, the class discusses how political ideas have affected the social process, especially in the attempt of re-establishing the relationship between the private sphere and the public sphere.

This course considers the religious, political, and cultural significance of Buddhism in modern Asia, with a particular focus on Japan. It surveys Japan's religious history and tradition, as well as recent issues facing Buddhist communities and modern society while covering topics such as religion and nationalism; gender issues in modern temple practices; religious violence and peace activities, and the role of tourism in temple affairs. The course provides a solid understanding of East Asia's religious heritage while developing critical perspectives on the impact of religion on modern Asian societies.