Waseda University

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. 

This advanced Japanese course is designed to improve speaking skills. A 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 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. 

Information is a fundamental concept in the world around us that can be investigated from several perspectives. The mathematical theory of information provides a framework for a formal description and interpretation of information. In many ways, this mathematical framework (its applications and the interpretations it provides) is based on concepts from probability theory and statistics. This course provides students with an introduction to the field of information theory. Students will learn to apply and interpret a wide range of concepts from statistics and probability theory to develop, model, and understand the concept of information, as well as related ideas, in a structured and organized way. Many of the tools of statistics and probability theory students encounter in the course should be familiar to them from introductory or intermediate statistics courses, while other concepts might be new.

This intermediate course is designed for students who have acquired an elementary level of Japanese. It develops an understanding of Japanese language through the introduction of new grammar patterns necessary for communication in Japanese. Approximately 150 new kanji are introduced at a rate of 10 per week. Students learn the correct stroke order of kanji, kanji compounds, and how to differentiate polite and casual forms of similar verbs based on kanji composition. Additionally, students have the chance to view various media in Japanese and discuss recent events in Japanese to further their Japanese proficiency and fluency. 

Mime/Pantomime is one of the oldest forms of human communication and, at the same time, one of the most essential tools for stage expression. The goal of this class is to explore the history, theories and practice of mimes, pantomimes, and other physically oriented/ non-verbal performances of each era, with the consideration of their cultural, societal background context. Our study includes comments of people, impressions of critics, or the sometimes vehement attacks of Christian authority on these activities. By doing so, we explore not only the art of physical expression but the social context in which a certain art form was created, modified, developed, and prospered.

This course explores the origins of various types of deductive argumentation by working through the arguments of proofs in a historical context. The course looks at the sources of different approaches to mathematical demonstrations in many diverse cultures and periods. It focuses on the continuous tradition that began in Greece; was adopted by Arabic and Hebrew scholars and was further cultivated in the Latin west. Finally, the course confronts contemporary challenges to the idea of proof such as the delicate relationship between rigor and intelligibility and the possibility of computer-generated proofs.   

Although this is not a mathematics course, enrollees should have some familiarity with mathematics and mathematical ideas. The texts demand careful attention to reasoning but they do not require advanced mathematical training. Although it is important to understand mathematical arguments, one must pay attention to the historical and philosophical aspects of the text. The class will work on several proofs on the board at each class meeting.