Waseda University

The third course of the introductory physics series (Introduction to Physical Science, Classical Physics), this course is designed to study modern physics developed in the 20th century. The course covers special relativity and quantum physics.

This course examines chapters from 19th and 20th century art history with a goal of gaining an understanding of the period, while learning about artists and movements. It introduces key ideas such as Expressionism and Abstraction with the emphasis on the networks of artists and art supporters (curators, sponsors, publishers) that developed them. Careful consideration is given to the political, cultural contexts and general circumstances that formed the cultural production by the artists discussed.

The course teaches major western leadership theories, but also explores, through the real practices of Asian business leaders, the characteristics and behaviors that are not always covered by Western leadership theories. The theories can be divided into three types: the leader as an individual (e.g., personality traits, values, perceptions, attitudes, EQ., etc.);  the leader’s behavior (e.g., participative, delegating, empowering, transformational/transactional, authentic, servant and value-based), and the situation that affects leadership (e.g. Contingency theory; cross-cultural leadership theory). In Asia, paternalistic leadership has been relatively well known, however, Asian countries have been the most rapidly developing in the world. This course introduces new leadership practices as well as traditional classic practices, including Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, which are believed to influence many of the Eastern Asian countries, including Japan, Korea, and China.  

This class explores several important themes in the political development of East and Southeast Asia. The first part of the course focuses on political culture, concerning the so-called 'Asian values' debate; the second part explores aspects of political information selection, and the third part covers topics of political participation.

This course instructs on python programming from a digital humanities perspective. It begins with the basics using interactive notebooks that require no installation. First, the course covers the basics of programming such as data types, loops, and variables. Later it explores and solves language-based and digital humanities problems using new programming skills and natural language processing (NLP) tools. Python 3 will be used in this course.

This course provides an intermediate level of game theory. Game theory considers rational decision-making in interactive situations. This course defines what these interactive situations are, and the rationality under these situations. In particular, the class uses a new approach to analyze experimental data of people’s decisions in economic/interactive environments. This new approach quantitates the degree of people’s rationality while the standard game theory and economic theory assume ‘super-rational decision-makers.’

Many novices in the historical study of the Cold War tend to draw a simplistic picture about it. For example, the Cold War was an international political process of US-Soviet strategic and ideological confrontations which never reached a third world war. But this widely shared image is not at all appropriate to properly depict the highly complex historical reality of the Cold War. In order to comprehend the complexity, this course analyzes the multiple actors and issues which determined the process of Cold War world politics. This includes not only the global superpowers, but the roles played by their allies, Third World countries, and even transnational actors such as NGOs. The course also sheds more analytical light upon interplay of manifold issue areas such as strategy, economic interdependence, societal changes and so forth.  In short, this course explores Cold War history from a global perspective.

This course introduces students to South Korean sexuality issues through the lens of sexuality, addressing topics such as colonialism and migration; industrialization, family, and sexual harassment; popular culture, media, and masculinity; militarization and conscription; and South Korea’s blooming LGBTQ+ movement. The methodology to approach these issues in the class is not to judge the phenomena only with one standard, but to articulate the multi-layers intersecting each issue. The course examines how historical change from liberated Korea in 1945 to the present-day was both motivated by and determinative of various gender dynamics, using secondary critical readings by scholars to better understand the relationship between society and sexuality in a chronological fashion. Students will learn about how Koreans have recognized diverse sexual orientations and gender roles over time.

In the year 600, Christianity was the dominant religion of both the Middle East and Europe. By the year 750, this had all changed. Instead, Islam was the main religion in the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of southern Europe. So began relations and interactions between the two religions that would last throughout the medieval period, and up to today, see periods of both intense, fanatical, violence and close scientific and political collaboration. This course explores the history of relations between members of the two religions over the period of 900 years, from the rise of Islam in the early seventh century to the final defeat of the Muslims of Spain in 1492. It examines perceptions between the two sides in writings produced in a variety of languages, cultures, times and places. In so doing, the course will instruct not only the relations during the medieval period but will also uncover the roots of many of the tensions in the world today.

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.