Comparative Studies of Civilization and Culture

22 August 2017 Last updated

Overview of the course

In this course, we deal with various aspects of civilization and culture that transcend the boundaries of various matters such as geography and language,and conduct comparative studies from a historical point of view concerning the dynamism of the transformation brought about by the transmission and propagation of such aspects with a focus on scientific and technical civilization and linguistic culture. With the asymmetric nature of advantages and disadvantages in civilization and culture in mind, we focus on such aspects as resistance, prejudice and creation underlying the phenomena considered to be unilateral acceptance, and aim to deepen our understanding of the interactions of such aspects and the bidirectionality of transformation based on the latest studies.

Students’ research themes	Master’s program: Foreigners in Meiji Japan, Text-Image Relations in the Classics, Gardens in Myths, View of Nature, Environmental Issues, Food and Toxic Chemicals, Whitehead’s Philosophy of Organism, Xu Guang-qi’s View on Mathematics
Teaching staff	Yuika KITAMURA, Associate Professor Subjects: Translating Classical Literature. Research fields: The reception of classical Japanese literature in modern times with a focus on the “Tale of Genji.” . Togo TSUKAHARA, Professor Subjects: Science, Technology and Society. Research fields: Professor Tsukahara studies science history and technological societies. Sara PARK, Lecturer Subjects: Trans-border Culture and Society Research fields: Nationalism and international migration. Masaru TOHDA, Professor Subjects: Japan-US Cultural Exchange. Research fields: Professor Tohda specializes in the studies on comparative literature and comparative culture with a focus on Japan-US cultural exchange in the Meiji era. He has written research papers concerning Lafcadio Hearn, Sosuke Natsume and Masuji Ibuse. Takayuki YAMASAWA, Associate Professor Subjects: Transcultural Studies in the Ancient World. Research fields: Ancient Greek and Roman Cultures. As it is not archeology, the class will not excavate ruins and receive a lot of media coverage. It is unspectacular philology, but Associate Professor Yamasawa believes there is still a lot we can learn from the documents left by ancient people.

Students’ research themes

Master’s program: Foreigners in Meiji Japan, Text-Image Relations in the Classics, Gardens in Myths, View of Nature, Environmental Issues, Food and Toxic Chemicals, Whitehead’s Philosophy of Organism, Xu Guang-qi’s View on Mathematics

Teaching staff

Yuika KITAMURA, Associate Professor
Subjects: Translating Classical Literature.
Research fields: The reception of classical Japanese literature in modern times with a focus on the “Tale of Genji.” .

Togo TSUKAHARA, Professor
Subjects: Science, Technology and Society.
Research fields: Professor Tsukahara studies science history and technological societies.

Sara PARK, Lecturer
Subjects: Trans-border Culture and Society
Research fields: Nationalism and international migration.

Masaru TOHDA, Professor
Subjects: Japan-US Cultural Exchange.
Research fields: Professor Tohda specializes in the studies on comparative literature and comparative culture with a focus on Japan-US cultural exchange in the Meiji era. He has written research papers concerning Lafcadio Hearn, Sosuke Natsume and Masuji Ibuse.

Takayuki YAMASAWA, Associate Professor
Subjects: Transcultural Studies in the Ancient World.
Research fields: Ancient Greek and Roman Cultures. As it is not archeology, the class will not excavate ruins and receive a lot of media coverage. It is unspectacular philology, but Associate Professor Yamasawa believes there is still a lot we can learn from the documents left by ancient people.