European and American Culture Studies

22 August 2017 Last updated

Overview of the course

In the European and American Culture Studies Course, we conduct multifaceted and comprehensive education and research on European and American societies and cultures, which have been playing a central role in world politics, economy, culture etc in modern times. Although the cultures developed in these regions spread worldwide, it is common knowledge that it is now critically reexamined. Moreover, there has recently been progress in studies on the societies and cultures in Europe and America that only played a peripheral role in establishing the modern era. Based on these past achievements, we reexamine the Western thoughts and values that seem deeply rooted in our modern lives and consciousness, and seek their meanings in the 21st century. We want to reveal the unknown depths of Europe and America through a course of concrete studies in a wide range of fields including history, language, religion, philosophy, literature, art and social system.

Students’ research themes	The “German Legends” of the Grimm Brothers, A Study on William Morris, Acceptance of Victorian Culture in “Harry Potter”, Modern French Fashion,Czech Romani Literature, Czech Baroque Studies, A Study on C. Bronte Establishment of the Mirandese language, Analysis of Visual Gags in I Love Lucy, Stereotype of the Japanese People in Hollywood Movies, Problems of Italian Immigration in America, Pacifism, Isolationism and Populism in the United States of America during Interwar Periods
Teaching staff	Yoko AOSHIMA, Associate Professor Subjects: Culture and Society in the Slavic World. Research fields: Professor Aoshima studies the modern history of Russia and Eastern European countries. She is specially interested in modernizing reforms, social transformation and emergence of nationalisms in the area. Hiroko ISHIZUKA, Professor Subjects: English Civic Culture. Research fields: Professor Ishizuka mainly studies the cultures, society and literature of Victorian England. She is interested in novels by Dickens, Gaskell, Gissing, etc. and looks from various angles into the cultural and social matters of general interest at the time, including social issues, the royal family, leisure, education, gender and fine arts. Hirotaka INOUE, Associate Professor Subjects: Formation of a Multiracial Society in the United States. Research fields: Based on politics, Professor Inoue conducts American studies with a focus on the history of intellectuals and democracy in the United States from the end of the 19th century to the 20th century. Takuya OZAWA, Associate Professor Subjects: Latin America and Global History. Research fields: Professor Ozawa specializes in Latin America, especially the modern history of Central America. He studies ethnic issues and culture concerning export crops that largely regulate the society of Central America. Chiyo SAKAMOTO, Professor Subjects: Representations of French Culture. Research fields: Professor Sakamoto specializes in French literature with special interest in French female writers and their works. She studies French female writers of the 19th century including George Sand and Marie d’Agoult, romanticism, Jeanne d’Arc, etc. A wider range of issues will be addressed in her class, such as the history and representations of European women. Takuya NISHITANI, Professor Subjects: Literary and Visual Culture in North America. Research fields: American literature, especially Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and other writers of the American Renaissance; film studies, especially adaptation studies and comparative studies in the narrative representation in film and literature. Keiji NOTANI, Professor Subjects: Advanced Seminar in Religion and Culture in Britain. Research fields: Professor Notani conducts studies the relation between Christian religion and English and American culture/literature. He wants to see how religion is involved in the formation of culture and view religion as an identity component for individuals and culture.

Students’ research themes

The “German Legends” of the Grimm Brothers, A Study on William Morris, Acceptance of Victorian Culture in “Harry Potter”, Modern French Fashion,Czech Romani Literature, Czech Baroque Studies, A Study on C. Bronte Establishment of the Mirandese language, Analysis of Visual Gags in I Love Lucy, Stereotype of the Japanese People in Hollywood Movies, Problems of Italian Immigration in America, Pacifism, Isolationism and Populism in the United States of America during Interwar Periods

Teaching staff

Yoko AOSHIMA, Associate Professor
Subjects: Culture and Society in the Slavic World.
Research fields: Professor Aoshima studies the modern history of Russia and Eastern European countries. She is specially interested in modernizing reforms, social transformation and emergence of nationalisms in the area.

Hiroko ISHIZUKA, Professor
Subjects: English Civic Culture.
Research fields: Professor Ishizuka mainly studies the cultures, society and literature of Victorian England. She is interested in novels by Dickens, Gaskell, Gissing, etc. and looks from various angles into the cultural and social matters of general interest at the time, including social issues, the royal family, leisure, education, gender and fine arts.

Hirotaka INOUE, Associate Professor
Subjects: Formation of a Multiracial Society in the United States.
Research fields: Based on politics, Professor Inoue conducts American studies with a focus on the history of intellectuals and democracy in the United States from the end of the 19th century to the 20th century.

Takuya OZAWA, Associate Professor
Subjects: Latin America and Global History.
Research fields: Professor Ozawa specializes in Latin America, especially the modern history of Central America. He studies ethnic issues and culture concerning export crops that largely regulate the society of Central America.

Chiyo SAKAMOTO, Professor
Subjects: Representations of French Culture.
Research fields: Professor Sakamoto specializes in French literature with special interest in French female writers and their works. She studies French female writers of the 19th century including George Sand and Marie d’Agoult, romanticism, Jeanne d’Arc, etc. A wider range of issues will be addressed in her class, such as the history and representations of European women.

Takuya NISHITANI, Professor
Subjects: Literary and Visual Culture in North America.
Research fields: American literature, especially Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and other writers of the American Renaissance; film studies, especially adaptation studies and comparative studies in the narrative representation in film and literature.

Keiji NOTANI, Professor
Subjects: Advanced Seminar in Religion and Culture in Britain.
Research fields: Professor Notani conducts studies the relation between Christian religion and English and American culture/literature. He wants to see how religion is involved in the formation of culture and view religion as an identity component for individuals and culture.