Meiji Gakuin University

The course provides an overview of key concepts and approaches of peace and conflict studies. It analyzes the most important problems that are central to understanding peace and conflict studies. What, for example, are the causes of war and peace? When do actors decide whether to go to war (as Russia and Ukraine did),  or cooperate? The class emphasizes critical thinking and encourages students to develop negotiation skills to resolve conflicts between two parties using negotiation games that will be implemented in class. 

This course resituates Japan in a global context from a transcultural perspective to consider how popular culture emerges, whose interests it serves, how it is disseminated, and what messages it communicates. It aims to identify Japan’s major historical and cultural developments; understand the long history of popular culture in Japan and analyze cultural products considering the contexts in which they emerged and the audiences towards which they are targeted. The course provides opportunities to acquire methodological and theoretical skills necessary to analyze and critique primary sources and construct a logical argument. 

As the global economy becomes more competitive and uncertain, businesses equipped with effective Supply Chain Management (SCM) can enhance financial performance, mitigate risks, and respond to disruptions more effectively. This course offers a comprehensive overview of supply chain management from strategy to each function within the supply chain. In addition, the course covers contemporary topics such as the Covid-19 pandemic, global supply chains, resilience, and sustainability. Classes consist of lectures, short video clips, interactive discussions, individual case study assignments, group case studies, and presentations. 

This course studies the major political and social transformations that have affected China, Japan and Korea from the 19th century and the present day. The survey begins with an overview of these societies respective histories prior to 1800, and then shifts to looking at the impact of western imperialism on east Asia. The class then examines Japanese imperialism, and cultural interactions between Asia and Europe/North America, WWII, and the emergence of east Asian economic and political influence up to the 1980s.

This course builds upon the concepts studied in INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS A and introduces business strategies. The course covers cost calculations, market structures, firms' decision making, supply chains and such other topics. 

Prerequisite: INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS A.