History

In this course, students chose from a range of research topics in various academic fields and receive one-on-one training from an experienced mentor who helps them refine research ideas, formulate questions, define methods of data collection, execute a plan, and present findings. Students learn how to review background information to their project, summarize its key outcomes, write a clear and concise research paper/report, and present results orally.

This course uses images, videos, and other multimedia materials to present and narrate modern Chinese history.

The course intends to trace back current situations to their historical backgrounds. The course contents consist of a brief exploration of the philosophy of history and some issues regarding historical perspective, a discussion of the concepts of "state" versus "nation" (in anticipation of issues regarding decolonization, specific regional conflicts, and possible sources for conflict in general that will also be discussed) and a discussion of the Cold War as an influential factor in recent history. Additional course contents, under the captions of “Area surveys” and “Assessment of the current global situation” respectively, are built around a case that represents the underlying problem, and both combined will lead the students to specific source material. Examples of such cases are decolonization, the economic development of Asia, conflict in Africa, and the implications of the current position of the USA as "solitary superpower." The course discusses the main trends in politics, demography, society, and culture over the last 70 years and to put these trends in a global context. The course develops a critical attitude towards the use of historical theory, and the interpretation of historical data and processes.

This course studies short stories depicting different aspects of the postwar period (roughly from 1945 until 1968) to provide an insight into the postwar period as a whole: how it shaped Japanese society at the time and how that process of shaping still bears upon the present. One short story at a time is studied. The texts will be made available to the class a week in advance on the Keio website, and all students will be expected to have read the relevant story before each class and to come prepared with comments and questions. All texts will be discussed on the basis of their English-language translations and the language of discussion will be English. However, the original Japanese texts will also be made available and native speakers of Japanese are particularly encouraged to use their knowledge of the original language to contribute to the discussion.