Waseda University

This course covers a roughly 250-year period of Japanese history: the Edo period (1603–1868). It was a time of immense change and vast creativity in visual culture, when the existing forms of representation started to break down, and new forms emerged. The course considers various topics beyond what is commonly considered as art, such as city planning, gardens, religious icons, play space, arts, and artists.

This course is designed for upper beginners to teach basic Japanese grammar and vocabulary. Japanese language is practiced by listening, reading, speaking and writing with new grammar patterns and vocabulary learned in class. The goal of the course is to further develop Japanese literacy and communication skills needed in daily life by expanding basic knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. Texts: MINNANO NIHONGO II; MINNANO NIHONGO II:TRANSLATION AND GRAMMAR NOTES; MINNANO NIHONGO II: WORKBOOK. Assessment: exams (55%), class attendance (25%), writing performance (10%), and oral test (10%).

This course is designed for beginners and covers basic Japanese grammar and vocabulary. Japanese language is practiced through listening, speaking, reading, and writing exercises. Students are expected to prepare for each class by memorizing words and reading the grammar notes, which takes approximately 40-60 min. 

This course highlights the development of Buddhist thought in Japan. Founded in India in the fifth century BCE, Buddhism was brought to Japan via China and Korea in the sixth century CE. Due to the influence of local structures and beliefs, Buddhism in Japan acquired some features which make it distinct from other forms of Buddhism in East and Southeast Asia. Concretely, this course examines the Buddhist teachings that had been influential in Japan at one time in the past; trace the interaction of Buddhism with other religions such as Shinto during the premodern period and shed light on the process of its development and transformation into the modern age.

This course is designed for students who have learned basic kanji compounds to expand their vocabulary by examining the meaning of Kanji components (radical), and on and kun pronunciation. In the course, students practice to understand the meaning of kanji used in sentences based on the context and learn more kanji compounds. 

This basic Japanese course is designed to improve speaking skills. A different theme concerning Japanese culture and society is chosen for each course and students are split into groups to engage in activities, discussion, and group work concerning the selected topic. The overall goal of the class is for students to widen their perspectives and deepen their knowledge regarding various issues related to Japan and Japanese society. The program offers various theme courses and students may take multiple sections. 

This course is designed for students who have learned approximately 100-150 Kanji . The goal of the course is to enable students to write and comprehend a variety of basic kanji in contexts and to understand the meaning of Kanji components. Each lesson covers new 16 kanji and its compounds. 

This course focuses on the representation of Hispanic culture in Japan.  The course widens knowledge of artistic, sociological and political issues  in Spain and Latin America. The course offers the opportunity not only to revisit familiar topics, such as the Spanish Inquisition, the Spanish Civil War, and flamenco, but also to gain new knowledge of little-known literary works, such as the Spanish versions of Romeo and Juliet, written by Shakespeare’s Spanish contemporary, Lope de Vega.

This course focuses on teaching tools of Data Science and how to apply them within the context of Economics and Social Sciences. Data Science is too large a field to cover all topics in a single semester.  This course focuses on the first steps, particularly, how to program, how to acquire, store, and visualize data. The goal of this course is to provide students with the tools and foundation to gain confidence in solving future problems in data science and economics. 

This course is designed for international students who are learning Japanese for the first time. The goal is to learn simple Japanese expressions (vocabulary, grammar, conversation) that will be useful in university life, to be able to express what you want to say in simple Japanese,  and to learn about Japanese language culture. Upon completion of the program, students will be able to carry out simple conversations in everyday situations.