Intercultural Communication

Intercultural Relations Program

Our world is composed of diverse ethnic and social groups, each of which has its own culture. The Intercultural Relations Program addresses the issue of how to enable these groups to communicate with each other across cultural boundaries, based on an examination of the characteristics of intercultural relationships and with attention to the issues involved in understanding a foreign culture.

Cultural Anthropology (Masanori YOSHIOKA)

This course examines how to interpret the cultures of various ethnic groups and find ways to understand different cultures by comparative methods.

Contemporary Social Anthropology (Kiyoshi UMEYA)

This course makes a comparative study of the social structures and cultures of the world’s ethnic groups and their transformation.

Cultural Hybridity (Tsuyoshi SAITO)

Situations where a new culture is created from a mixture of various cultures are considered using cultural anthropology methods.

Ethnography (Yoshiko SHIBATA)

This course considers how to understand, describe or represent various ethnic cultures along with various hypothesized field survey problems

Ethnology (Hiroki OKADA).

Using ethnography as study materials, this course studies and compares interrelationships between various cultures (including Japan) and problems such as folk customs and modernization with a focus on lifestyle. We will use these issues as ethnography materials.

Multicultural Studies Program

Not every cross-cultural encounter triggers violent conflicts or frictions observed in ethnic disputes. Successful examples do exist of avoiding violence and achieving peaceful coexistence among different cultures. The Multicultural Studies Program is dedicated to exploring institutional and conceptual frameworks for fostering intercultural harmony and models of cross-cultural communication that facilitate conflict-resolution.

International Relations (Kazunari SAITO)

This course explores strategies for achieving and maintaining peaceful coexistence between countries, regions, and cultures in the global community.

Governance and Public Policy (Tomokazu SAKANO)

A comparative study of new political phenomena and dynamics that transcend the boundaries of nation-states, with emphasis on governance.

Peacebuilding Studies (Satoru NAKAMURA)

This course gives problem solving oriented consideration to the theme of peace and security while valuing the perspective of preventive diplomacy.

Comparative Policy Studies (Masaharu YASUOKA)

A comparative study of the background and challenges that Japan and developed western countries have in common and each national policy responses of each country to these problems.

Transcultural Studies Program

The current wave of globalization has allowed many cultures to expand beyond the countries and regions in which they originated. The Transcultural Studies Program examines the way that these expanded cultures interact with their native counterparts, from both contemporary and historical perspectives, and explores the potential for these phenomena to foster positive bi-directional cross-cultural communication.

Comparative Civilization (Nobuo MIURA)

This course examines differences and similarities in the structure and history of thoughts and sciences in various civilizations.

Techno-Culture Studies (Togo TSUKAHARA)

A discussion of the implications of the use of technology such as mobile phones, convenience stores and many other facets of our daily lives.

Translation and Culture (Yuika KITAMURA)

This course explores the characteristics and potential of translation culture.

Contemporary Transborder Culture (Masaru TODA)

This course discusses the characteristics of cultures that transcend national boundaries with emphasis on the relationship between Japan and the United States.

Formation of Cultural Styles (Takayuki YAMASAWA)

Examples from the ancient Mediterranean world form the basis of discussions of the process through which academic disciplines, literature, and lifestyles develop.

Contemporary Social Anthropology – Associate Professor Kiyoshi UMEYA

I am performing field work in Uganda in East Africa. Currently my main interest is in the rumors surrounding the ministers killed by former President Idi Amin. The elite that emerged through decolonization became subject to rumors of curses and spells. People were able to get promoted because of what a prophet said, and a person who eventually died was said to have died because he was cursed with the spirits of killed ancestors. Even if people are able to explain how such misery happens, we are not able to explain why this happened. We do not dare neglect these problems. To do so would invite the appearance of such curses and spells. Although we do not know the reason why such problems arise, we cannot give up.

International Relations – Associate Professor Kazunari SAITO

How do different ethnic groups co-exist without causing conflicts or disputes, what mechanisms are there for such an international community, what can countries do to support those mechanisms, and what is the role of culture? I have been studying these challenges from the viewpoint of politics/international relations, targeting areas such as France, the EU and the Mediterranean region. Within the news that delves into unstable international political situations every moment of every day, there is actually some root cause that does not change. It is this that will give us a clue for the creation of multicultural coexistence and peace. So why don’t you join us in the intellectual pursuit of finding and applying this?

Comparative Civilization – Professor Nobuo MIURA

I am in charge of Scientific History and Comparative Civilizations. From the scientific traditions of Ancient Egypt to the enormous science of the modern United States, I give lectures on selected specific material about how science and technology has been transmitted or has undergone a transformation in various civilizations. Although this interdisciplinary area is generally unfamiliar, I think analyzing a civilization with modern science and technology and looking to the future is an important educational matter. My specialty is the history of western medieval and Renaissance mathematics, but recently I have also been interested in the development of science and technology under monotheistic religions such as Islam and Christianity as well as the acceptance of modern western science in non-western countries in Asia, including Japan. Themes like these are also incorporated into the lecture material.