Graduate School of Intercultural Studies, Kobe University

Last Updated: 2025/08/05

The interaction between humans, society and nature has significantly changed and is becoming increasingly complex in modern society. The objective of the “Contemporary Social Issues” course is understanding of contemporary society through an interdisciplinary approach that bridges the humanities and social sciences in exploring leading issues in modern society. For example, we analyze the changes in thinking surrounding nation states, families and individuals from the perspective of gender theory to capture socially constructed human relations; envision an equitable solution to global challenges such as cultural friction, absolute poverty, human-rights violation, climate change and seek to understand human nature and society in a multicultural world faced with informatization of the consumer society facilitated by innovation in media technology. The “Contemporary Social Issues” course disentangles these conflicting problems theoretically and provides a means of tackling them realistically.

Students’ research themes	・Gender division of labor in the home in urban China ・Euthanasia seen from the perspective of the right to self-determination ・Why is the sex selection of a child unacceptable? ・Racism in dance hall reggae ・A sociological study of “created communities” ・Urban youth subcultures in Japan: The changing perception of public space with reference to the case of parkour ・NPO/NGO network media: Is accessing the public sphere possible through the Internet? ・Occupation and sexuality: GHQ’s policy-making on prostitution (Doctoral dissertation) ・Feminism as relation: From the perspective of interaction between images, individuals and methodology ・Changes of heart and the development of moral individualism (Doctoral dissertation)
Teaching staff	Kaoru AOYAMA, Professor Subjects: Gender and Society Research fields: Sociology, migration, gender and sexuality. I am also interested in issues such as globalization, multiculturalism, social exclusion and inclusion, the right to intimacy and representation. She is pursuing a combination of theoretical and empirical research methodologies to look into phenomena that cause changes across public and private lives such as immigration, care / sex workers, same-sex marriage, and gender identity “disorder.” Hiroki OGASAWARA, Professor Subjects: Media and Cultural Studies Research fields: I am studying sociology and cultural studies. I am critically examining the relationship between multicultural capitalism and racism especially in the fields of media and sport from empirical, theoretical and historical perspectives. Akihiko NISHIZAWA, Professor Subjects: Contemporary Social Theory Research fields: I am studying sociology and urban studies. I have been dealing with contemporary social problems, focusing on the life-world and the identity of the urban poor confronted with social exclusion. [My recent books include The Sphere of Poverty: Who is excluded?, Kawadeshobo Shinsha, etc.] Haruko KUDO, Associate Professor Subjects: Norms and Cultures Research fields: Coming from transnational sociology, my research focuses on the relationship between international migration and gender and sexuality, particularly the norms of sexuality in refugee and forced migration. Having worked in the humanitarian field, I am also interested in the issue of violence within humanitarian assistance/activities and the power relations between humanitarian workers and beneficiaries.

Students’ research themes

・Gender division of labor in the home in urban China
・Euthanasia seen from the perspective of the right to self-determination
・Why is the sex selection of a child unacceptable?
・Racism in dance hall reggae
・A sociological study of “created communities”
・Urban youth subcultures in Japan: The changing perception of public space with reference to the case of parkour
・NPO/NGO network media: Is accessing the public sphere possible through the Internet?
・Occupation and sexuality: GHQ’s policy-making on prostitution (Doctoral dissertation)
・Feminism as relation: From the perspective of interaction between images, individuals and methodology
・Changes of heart and the development of moral individualism (Doctoral dissertation)

Teaching staff

Kaoru AOYAMA, Professor
Subjects: Gender and Society
Research fields: Sociology, migration, gender and sexuality. I am also interested in issues such as globalization, multiculturalism, social exclusion and inclusion, the right to intimacy and representation. She is pursuing a combination of theoretical and empirical research methodologies to look into phenomena that cause changes across public and private lives such as immigration, care / sex workers, same-sex marriage, and gender identity “disorder.”

Hiroki OGASAWARA, Professor
Subjects: Media and Cultural Studies
Research fields: I am studying sociology and cultural studies. I am critically examining the relationship between multicultural capitalism and racism especially in the fields of media and sport from empirical, theoretical and historical perspectives.

Akihiko NISHIZAWA, Professor
Subjects: Contemporary Social Theory
Research fields: I am studying sociology and urban studies. I have been dealing with contemporary social problems, focusing on the life-world and the identity of the urban poor confronted with social exclusion. [My recent books include The Sphere of Poverty: Who is excluded?, Kawadeshobo Shinsha, etc.]

Haruko KUDO, Associate Professor
Subjects: Norms and Cultures
Research fields: Coming from transnational sociology, my research focuses on the relationship between international migration and gender and sexuality, particularly the norms of sexuality in refugee and forced migration. Having worked in the humanitarian field, I am also interested in the issue of violence within humanitarian assistance/activities and the power relations between humanitarian workers and beneficiaries.