Waseda University

This course  explores how law and justice function in Japanese society. Beginning with the process of how the law was established, the course covers not only the court system, which is the core of dispute resolution, but also the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) system; the legal profession; access to justice issues; the family and the law, and law and gender issues.  The course examines the Japanese legal system from a critical perspective and seeks an understanding of the characteristics of the Japanese legal system and its function in Japanese society. 

Each class will include a student discussion session and students will be asked to write brief comments during or at the end of each lecture. 

The goal of this course is to acquaint students with the basic history, philosophy, methodologies, and practice of drama in the field of Education. Through the study of history, philosophy and practice of each practitioner, the course explores the potential of drama as a tool of diverse learning. Along with theoretical study, students will be exposed to hands-on exercises and techniques of “Educational Drama.” By the end of the course, a widened knowledge and perspective of the possibility of educational drama will be acquired.  

During the first four weeks, students will be exposed to many readings and a variety of drama techniques and methods to prepare for the design, implementation, and evaluation of drama activities. After this period, students will be divided into groups where they will be assigned a drama practitioner; create a lesson plan and conduct a drama. The whole class will reflect upon this activity at the end of the course.  

This course reviews and discusses the history of the notion of philosophy (as tetsugaku) within the history of modern Japan. In doing so, difficult questions relating to the very notion of philosophy itself will be asked. What is philosophy and what can make it “Japanese”? Is all philosophy done on Japanese shores “Japanese philosophy”? Otherwise, are there certain core or essential characteristics that make philosophy Japanese? In tackling these questions, the course seeks to learn more about the history of philosophical thought in modern Japan and seeks to reach a deeper understanding of the notion of philosophy itself. 

This course instructs on Japanese expressions (vocabulary, grammar, conversation) that are useful in university life. It equips students to express what they to say in basic Japanese; to learn about Japanese language culture and values, and to expand their world through learning Japanese language.  

This class offers blended learning which combines two learning methods: a self-directed learning (SDL) session in which students are required to learn individually using online materials (equivalent to one 100 min period/ week), and a real time session (Zoom) in a classroom with other students (one 100-min period/ week).  

This course consists of two parts. One class segment will be devoted to international/global environmental politics, with the core concern of achieving collective action that will lead to the betterment of the environment. After learning about a fundamental conceptual framework to approach environmental politics, the course looks at various global issues, such as an ever-widening gap between rich and poor nations; world population growth; food issues, and energy. The course then focuses on the politics of various international/global environmental problems. The course will present class discussions on real international/global environmental probleams to deepen one’s understanding of the nature of the problems.  

The second segment of the course is distance learning or e-learning. The theme for this year is, “Climate Science and Solutions”(but this is subject to change). The program will be coordinated by the Asia Pacific Initiative (API) of Hawaii University and Osaka University, and involves other universities: Ryukyu University, Tsukuba University, and National University of Samoa. 

Development economics is a relatively new and unique field, emerging after post-World War II decolonization and is unique in certain aspects. This course covers the leading issues in economic development for social science students, promoting a balanced understanding based on theories and empirical research. Starting from a basic understanding of poverty, inequality and economic growth, this class focuses more on international issues that less developed economies face in present time, such as trade, foreign direct investment, balance of payment crisis, and structural adjustment, as well as other policy issues. 

This course introduces basic aspects of modern Japanese history, emphasizing the international and domestic factors that shaped Japan's historical development. Lectures cover the period from the 1840s to the present.  

As the historical interpretation of World War II is still controversial in Asian countries as well as in Japan and the U.S., the course discusses various historical perspectives in class sessions. 

This course studies the theory and practice of humanitarian intervention. It asks, is it ever justifiable to intervene in the domestic affairs of another sovereign state? If so, when, and for what reasons? 
 
This course considers the possibility that a norm of humanitarian intervention has emerged in international society since the end of the Cold War, examining case studies of the major intervention cases that have arisen in the last twenty years: Iraq 1991, Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq 2003, Darfur, Libya, and Syria. 

This course provides an introduction to African studies, especially to the Southern African Countries. While the African continent has significant legal, political and economic challenges, students are rarely introduced to the attempts of African states to set up structures to confront those challenges through regional integration. This course introduces students to the various legal, political, and economic regional integration initiatives in the emerging Southern African region.

The course features presentations from Ambassadors and Embassy officials of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), focusing on the variety of the economy and politics of the SADC region, as well as the relationship between Japan and each respective SADC state.  

This course introduces and discusses some key issues and problems in cognitive neurosciences. The course covers an introduction to the brain and behavior; vision; memory; brain and artificial intelligence; communication; disorders of the mind, etc.