Asian Studies

This course is an introductory study of contemporary Sino-Japanese relations, covering the historical period from 1972 to the present day. It examines the prominent issue in the bilateral relations and explores several major factors that shape the change and continuity of the relationship from the perspective of international relations theory (IRT) in the discipline of political science. It aims at training students to understand Sino-Japanese relations with both basic historical knowledge and analytical capability.

Berlin is a multi-cultural city with a diverse cultural life. The seminar presents this transcultural landscape connected to Asia. Starting with the fascination of collectors and travelers to Asia in the Barock period of the 18th century and the establishment of cabinets of curiosities, collections and material culture has lend contemporary relevance to ethnography, art history and anthropology. Asian collections and architecture presented in Berlin are confronted with the very colonial contexts from which substantial parts of them hail, giving contemporary relevance to the history of their origins. As issue today are questions of cultural heritage, cross-cultural methods and opening-up to non-western research, discourses, Arts and Asian communities.

A distinctive feature of Japanese cultural tradition is an aesthetic that favors the subtle, the condensed, the pure, and the ephemeral. This contrasts with the West, which finds beauty ideals in things that are large, rich, powerful, and rationally ordered. From bonsai to figurine, it is said that this characteristic has been passed down through repeated exchanges with China in ancient times and with the West in modern times.　

This course considers the factors behind Japan's unique sense of beauty, centered on plastic arts, and what the results were, through comparison with those of the West and China. Taking advantage of the geographical advantage of studying in Kyoto, which has nurtured Japanese aesthetic traditions and produced excellent art, the course also includes a tour.　

This course addresses various issues that constitute citizenship and non-citizenship in the process of transmigration, settlement, and creation of communities (or nation), as well as identity formation, cultural hybridization, and cultural/knowledge productions ‒ all of which are informed by race, gender, sexuality, class, religion, language, and others.

The course aims to:

1) Familiarize students with some fundamental concepts of reconciliation, peace, and coexistence in a range of historical contexts;
2) Analyze and interpret historical theories and case studies in the local and global context of East Asia (China, Japan, Korea(s), and Taiwan) to ensure a transnational perspective;
3) Help students develop an in-depth understanding of national, regional, and global dimensions in the makings of modern East Asia and interactions by illuminating human agency, nongovernmental organizations, and local dynamics in East Asia to think critically about historical narratives;
4)  Explain the concepts as nationalism, citizenship, identity and belonging;

5) Explain historical and contemporary issues faced by various displaced people categorized as “immigrants,” “refugees,” and “adoptees” in their process of transmigration, settlement, and creation of diasporic communities;
6) Analyze various data sources including policies, legislations, historical facts, popular cultural production, and personal narratives; and
7) Use intersectionality as a lens of analysis to discuss issues pertaining to identity formation.

This course is designed to assist students who seek to bring cross-cultural theory and research into their business practices in order to develop the intercultural competence necessary to interact confidently and successfully with Japanese businesspeople. Theoretical discussions and intercultural sensitivity workshops are included in this course to achieve these goals. The comparative approach allows for examining how people practice business differently, depending on explicit and implicit sets of general cultural assumptions, rules, norms, and values. The course aims to understand cultural differences in businesspeople’ s attitudes towards work, companies, and the relationship between individuals (colleagues or co-workers and clients/customers) and organizations (counterparts or partners). The course also seeks to understand possible cultural roots of Japanese business practices and behavior, highlighting phenomena that are only indirectly observable, such as harmony, loyalty, discipline, patience, respect for senior staff, and the importance of moderation.

A good mixture of lectures, class discussions, and workshops comprise the activities of this course.

The course focuses on Japan`s Environment and Energy Policies, especially its policies toward renewable energy. From a comparative perspective alongside other East Asian nations and Northern Europe (Norden), it analyzes Japan's role in global climate negotiations and its policies toward renewable energy in the context of its traditional reliance on fossil fuels and nuclear power.

By the end of the course, students should be well-versed in global environmental issues as well as Japan's policies for combating climate change and promoting a shift toward renewable energy. An understanding of the current state of Japan's transition toward using renewable energy for energy generation; the further electrification of transportation, and the shift toward a hydrogen economy, is also an expected outcome.

This course explores the complex relationships underlying Chinese music, language and literature. It focuses on Chinese music from the perspective of popular music produced in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. These four economies have developed different strands of popular music in Mandarin and various Chinese dialects, due to different linguistic and ideological environments. Students will learn how Chinese popular music draws upon the aesthetics of Chinese literature and traditional Chinese music, and how the music has hybridised influences from foreign musical genres, thus expressing different versions of “Chineseness”.

This course examines modern Korean literature, history, culture, and society of the 20th and early 21st century. 

In this class, two instructors, Paie and Takagishi, will teach "Japanese culture" in an omnibus format.　
　
Paie’s classes introduce Shinto and Zen Buddhism, the foundation of the Japanese way of thinking and spirituality. The course provides an overview of Shinto; its origin; relationship with Japanese lifestyle, and tradition of festivals. In addition, the course makes the connection between Shinto and martial arts, introducing Sumo and Aikido as Shinto martial arts. Furthermore, the course provides an overview of Japanese Zen Buddhism – the culture, the history and thought of Zen words and Zen paintings. Students will have a zazen experience with a priest from Rinzai and learn the characteristics of Japanese culture through these experiences.　

Takagishi's classes focus on the themes, "Japanese culture around me," "pop culture," and "language." The life of the founder of Doshisha, Jo Nijima, is traced through the themes, “Japanese culture around me,” “Kyoto festivals and events,” “Japanese kimono and culture,” and the “founding spirit of Doshisha.” "Pop Culture" deals with "Japanese Manga and Anime" and "Japanese Popular Songs" traces the history of popular songs from the post-war era to the present. By studying the Kansai dialect and young people's language, which are used in the city and on campus as "languages," students will notice the differences from the standard language; learn about the mechanism by which young people's words are created, and the way of thinking of young people in Japan. Through the introduction to various aspects of Japanese culture previously mentioned, students will deepen their understanding of modern Japanese culture.

Culture is very much a combination of lifestyle and art. This course explores the development and transition of Japanese aesthetic in lifestyle from the prehistoric Jomon Period all the way to today, with special emphasis on the crafts and arts of Edo, Meiji, Taisho, and Showa eras. In Japan, there are fine arts, fine crafts, Mingei (the people’s arts and crafts), and design. The course examines the trends in art and lifestyle from ancient times; how traditional crafts and arts appeared in art history, and how Japanese arts and lifestyle transformed with the industrial revolution during the Meiji Era with a newly applied idea of “fine arts,” followed by the emergence of the philosophy of Mingei. The course finishes by discussing how art and crafts influence our everyday lifestyle; what it means to us today, and what you think will happen in the future.