Keio University

This course applies economic concepts and techniques to analyze issues in health and health care. It explores the principles and techniques of economic evaluation of health interventions using the basic principles of epidemiology and examines health systems and health policy issues mainly in Japan. 

Historical museums play a role in shaping their local communities - they weave a rich local history based on the historical and cultural resources (local heritage) that remain in the area. These resources are not necessarily limited to the materials stored in museums, but includes the local environment shaped by history itself. This course explores the relationship between museums and local heritage, drawing on the instructor's experience as a museum curator specializing in architectural history in Yokohama. 

This multidisciplinary course relates basic economic thinking to the real economy, covering the historical developments of economic institutions in the US and Japan as well as global strategies of Japanese corporations such as DeNA, Mercari, Suntory, Uniqlo, Seven Eleven and JR East, etc. The course also introduces related topics of FinTech and economic analysis of Law.. 

Focusing on "finance" as an essential element for societal systems transformation to achieve a sustainable society, this class explains the current role of finance in the sustainable development and environmental fields and their theoretical background. It focuses on the two types of environmental finance: 1) Finance related to international cooperation in which developed countries and others financially support developing countries to promote environmental measures in developing countries, and 2) The growing trend toward greening the financial system and the economy from the perspective of stabilizing the financial system. Beyond international environmental conventions, there is now an increasing number of initiatives by financial institutions and companies to address sustainability. 

This class introduces the expansion of environmental finance and its challenges today; introducing trends related to the United Nations; current discussions on sustainable finance and responses to climate and nature-related risks by financial institutions and companies, and the relationship with international environmental conventions. This class also discusses the expansion of environmental finance and its related governance.

This course teaches liberal arts students to understand the basic notions of probability theory and statistics, and to be able to comprehend the meaning of an elementary statistical analysis. While some mathematics is unavoidable to handle probabilities and statistics, the course focuses on comprehending simple analyses concerning randomness, subjective and objective probabilities, parameter estimation, confidence. After a short introduction of elementary probability theory, the most important discrete and continuous distributions, the law of large numbers and the central limit theorem, it discusses the basics of statistics, parameter estimation, confidence, and Bayesian statistics.

This course explores conceptual, theoretical, and accumulated knowledge of international security and conflict studies. It focuses on:

• The rise of emerging powers: How do emerging powers  change the international security order?
• Asymmetrical threats: terrorism and insurgency activities;
• Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons; and,
• Emerging importance of new domains (space and cyberspace).  

This course is mainly divided into two phases.  The first phase deals with contemporary nature of intra- and international conflicts; observing conceptual and empirical aspects of today’s conflict and discussing case studies in Asia, Middle East, and Africa as regions; and terrorism, proliferation of weapons, and ethnic and religious tensions as issue areas.  The second phase deals with security policy and strategy, investigating phase-dynamics approach (peacetime management, crisis management, deterrence, intervention, post-conflict operations) to security policy, specific sets of policy in each phase, then to evaluating the actual cases.

Gagaku is one of Japan's traditional musical genres, boasting the longest history. Along with Buddhist chanting, it forms the backbone of Japanese music. Understanding the history and structure of gagaku is fundamental to understanding the diverse forms of Japanese music. 

This course first defines the term gagaku in Japan, grasping its etymology and genres, then studying the basics of the imported music and dance that form the core of the current gagaku tradition (e.g., genres, instrument arrangements, and performance techniques). Then, it traces the history of ancient Japanese songs and dances, as well as music and dances from the continent that were introduced between the 5th and 9th centuries. The course then examines the evolution of gagaku from its peak in the Heian period to its current form from various angles. 

Thus, this class experiences the rich diversity of gagaku, a genre that continues to thrive today. It includes the many variations of traditional pieces preserved in ancient scores, pieces that have been given new life through revivals and restorations, and the possibilities of musical expression that have expanded through the adoption of Western music.

Tourists' decisions and behaviors are influenced by their desires and motivations, as well as their personalities. Tourism not only provides job opportunities and money, but also provides opportunities for human interaction and encounters. Hosts and guests meet, discover their differences and similarities, and thus rediscover themselves. This course introduces psychology-based research findings in the field of tourism and explains the mechanisms and influences of modern tourist behavior. 

This course introduces critical legal thinking by studying the nature of “law” and providing an overview of “legal reasoning”.  The course addresses different issues and debates but focuses on the following questions:

• What is the role of law in our society?
• How does law justify itself?
• How does law relate to ethics and morality?
• What happens when opposing rights conflict with each other?
• What defines power in a juridical system?
• What are the strength and weaknesses of democracy?

This course reviews the development of research in the field of linguistic anthropology and related academic fields, providing an overview of what aspects of language and communication reveal about society and culture. The course also explores concrete examples, sometimes including audio and video clips, to further the discussion. The course aims to gain insight into the complex and reciprocal relationships between language and society as well as language and culture.