Graduate Courses

Philosophy and History

The goals of this field are to elucidate the structures of human society and culture and pursue what it is to be human through history and culture. The methodologies of philosophy and history are different, but the characteristic of this field is in having combined the two. This educational and research framework, which combines both of the basic axes for understanding humanity, the philosophical perspective and the historical perspective, makes it possible to examine the essentials and universal values of human society and culture and how they have changed in the midst of turbulent historical currents. We foster researchers who in addition to deep knowledge of their chosen specialization have broadened their vision to other related disciplines, and specialized career people who have broad knowledge and training. Within this field, according to academic discipline and research methods, we have created the specializations of Philosophy, Japanese History, Asian History, and World History

Human Behavioral Sciences

In this field, we conduct education and research promoting the holistic and interdisciplinary investigation of people's relation to society and culture, especially examining the social, educational, and cultural friction problems permeating modern urban societies. To that end, grounded in the behavioral science methods of fieldwork and experimentation, we stress analysis, understanding, and building of theory about human behavior and social phenomena based on demonstrative data. By having students master rigorous research methods on human behavior, we are fostering their ability to objectively observe real society and the people who live in it, and are nurturing not only researchers for universities and research centers but personnel who can be active in education, welfare, the information industry, and government offices as specialists with a high level of knowledge and skills. In this field, based on academic discipline and research methods, we have the specializations of Sociology, Psychology, Educations, and Geography.

Languages and Culture

This field attempts to fundamentally explore through language the entire spectrum of cultural phenomena related to language which is the very core of human endeavor, i.e. language, literature, culture, and related areas. In addition to being based on the traditional academic categories of national and language units, in response to the realities of modern culture crossing over boundaries, we have added Language and Information Studies and Cultural Expression Studies as new fields. By doing so, we create education and research appropriate to an age of urbanization, information, and globalization. Additionally, in nurturing the basic knowledge held in common within the field and a broad view of related disciplines by including Western Classics, Linguistics, etc., our goal is to securely establish comprehensive language and culture studies that stress the mutual interrelationship between the separate disciplines. We are fostering graduates who can actively participate in international society supplied with an acute sense of language and practical language ability. In this field, based on academic discipline and research methods, we have the specializations of Japanese Language and Literature, Chinese Linguistics and Sinology , English and American Language and Literature, German Language and Literature, French Language and Literature, Linguistics and Language Processing , and Culture as Representation

Asian Culture and Urbanism

Until now, research on Asia has been divided into the disciplines of economics, political science, etc. In contrast, this field's goal is to examine the characteristics, formation, and future directions of contemporary culture, especially urban culture, mainly in East and Southeast Asia, in an interdisciplinary, holistic, and comparative manner, drawing on findings from all the various humanistic disciplines. This is the first department in Japan centered on cultural studies and research of Asian cities. The specialized fields of the teaching staff extend to comparative thought, traditional cultural research, modern urban culture, problems of ethnicity, environment and culture, and the performing arts, etc. Research on urban tourism is also possible. It is possible to nurture a broad view that takes in a complex cross section of Asia, transcending the traditional discipline boundaries of philosophy, East Asian history, geography, cultural anthropology, or Chinese literature. We also open the door to foreign students and those in other careers. We also stress language skills and fieldwork, carrying out education and research emphasizing 'information exchange' which has been lacking until now in Japanese graduate schools.