https://www.lit.osaka-cu.ac.jp/grm/ (German-speaking world)
https://www.lit.osaka-cu.ac.jp/frn/ (French-speaking world)
Germany and France are independent sovereign states located in Europe, but the use of their languages as official languages, including minority languages (i.e., language islands), extends globally far beyond Europe. As such, German and French are both global languages. Both languages have established important positions in many fields, such as politics, economics, music, art, academic discourse, literature, linguistics, and philosophy. Beyond this, the history and culture of the linguistic spheres of both languages continue to exert considerable influence on many countries, including Japan. This course positions the global languages of German and French as language spheres that are in the process of developing across national boundaries and provides students with opportunities to apply a systematic and academically rigorous approach to exploring diverse aspects of the literature, culture, and linguistic study of these languages.
English alone is not enough to perceive the world in a truly global sense, gain an unbiased understanding of the increasingly multipolar reality of the world, and enable cross-cultural understanding on a higher level. In this sense, German and French rival English in their significance. In addition to English, students enrolled in this course can learn German or French—or both if they wish—to acquire the multifaceted and diversified global vision that is essential to playing an active role in the increasingly borderless world of today.
To this end, in addition to classes specializing in the German-speaking and Francophone worlds, the course also provides new modules that span both of these worlds. These include Advanced Studies in German and Francophone Language and Culture, Advanced Studies in European Language and Culture, Advanced Studies in Multiculture, and Advanced Area Studies in Society and Culture.
For the German-speaking world, the course facilitates an environment where students can engage in the study of German language, German-language literature, and German-language cultural studies, with graduate students working in each of these fields. Many students also study abroad at German-speaking universities while enrolled at OCU. OCU also has an exchange program with the University of Hamburg in Germany.
For the Francophone world, we provide an environment where students can engage in the study of the French language, French-language literature, and French-language cultural studies and also study the societies and foreign language education practices of the Francophone world. Some students also study abroad at a French-speaking university while enrolled at OCU. The OCU Graduate School of Literature has exchange programs with the University of Lyon 3 and Cergy-Pontoise University in France.
To date, we have sent a large number of our graduates to communities in both German and French-speaking countries. We have also recently observed an increase in the number of students earning doctoral degrees in literature. Graduates from the doctoral program are currently employed as faculty staff at universities while master’s graduates are active in a variety of roles at companies.
News
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| Professor Yoshiyuki Fukushima | Professor Yoshiyuki Fukushima is responsible for the part of the course relating to French-speaking regions. His areas of research include linguistics (analysis of communication and reciprocal action and study of grammar), foreign language learning (study of cooperative learning, portfolios, etc.), theories of boundaries and theater (study of theatrical sites and theatrical spaces), study of the French-speaking world, and community emergence. |
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| Professor Kinuko Takai | Professor Kinuko Takai is interested in 20th century literature in the German-speaking world, especially the relationship between postwar social conditions and literature, focusing on the works of women writers such as Bachmann and Haushofer. |
| Professor Yuki Shirata | Professor Yuki Shirata is responsible for the part of the course relating to French-speaking regions. Her research focuses on the representation of gender and race in French fin de siècle literature and culture of the 19th century and on Art Nouveau and interculturalism. |
| Associate Professor Yoko Harano | Associate Professor Yoko Harano specializes in 20th century literature and culture, with a focus on Boris Vian, the Collège de Pataphysique, and the Workshop of Potential Literature. She is also conducting research on violence and representation (or fighting art), the two world wars and literature, and the relationship between science, technology and art, including fantasy science. |
| Associate Professor Kenichi Hasegawa | Associate Professor Kenichi Hasegawa focuses on conducting a comprehensive study of 18th and 19th century culture and literature (including writers such as Goethe, Jung-Schilling, and Novalis), including historical and social context. |
| Lecturer Moe Nobukuni | Lecturer Moe Nobukuni deals with research in the field of German language, focusing on the syntactic and semantic relationships between adjectives and constructions in modern German, with a particular interest in the relationship between adjectives and phrases that describe phenomena and propositions. |
Publications and Work with Academic Societies
There are two academic societies within the department, the Osaka City University German Literature Society for German-speaking regions, and the Osaka City University French Literature Society for French-speaking regions. Based on the longstanding traditions of both languages, these societies provide a forum for current and former faculty members, graduate students, and alumni to actively engage in research presentations and symposia on topics in the German-speaking and French-speaking worlds, respectively.
In addition, the former publishes the journal Seminarium and the latter the journal Lutèce; both the journals serve as a platform for publishing a range of research findings.