2017 | Japan Studies II - TOKYO TECH OCW

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2017　Japan Studies II

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Academic unit or major: Breadth courses

Instructor(s): Saito Hirofumi Koike Hideki Saijo Miki Watanabe Osamu Bektas Yakup

Class Format: Lecture

Media-enhanced courses

Day/Period(Room No.): -

Group: -

Course number: LAW.X422

Credits: 2

Academic year: 2017

Offered quarter: 2Q

Syllabus updated: 2017/6/6

Lecture notes updated: -

Language used: English

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Syllabus

Course description and aims

This course is specially provided for the Tokyo Tech Summer Program 2017 participants. The course focuses on Japan (Nippon, 日本) mainly from six aspects: Practice in simple Japanese communication, Japanese domestic industry, Computer sciences in Japan, The history of Japanese science and technology, Japanese design and Japanese traditional culture.
This course will become a gateway for program participants to gain a basic understanding of some aspects of Japan. It aims to enhance students' motivation to learn more about Japan on their own.

Student learning outcomes

In the Japanese history of science and technology classes, students will be able to understand the background of Japan's rapid development in science and technology after the 19th century.
In the Japanese design class, after defining what "design" is, students will be able to understand through examples the special features of Japanese design and, through design, gain insights into Japanese values.
In the Japanese language communication classes, students will be able to understand interpersonal communication; analyze and understand their own communication style and values; express their ideas and opinions in an appropriate way in Japanese society, such as in interactions with Japanese school children.

Keywords

Japan, Communication, International student, Cross-culture, Japanese, Japanese culture, History of Japanese Science and Technology, Japanese Industry, Japanese design, Computer science

Competencies that will be developed

Specialist skills

✔ Intercultural skills

✔ Communication skills

Critical thinking skills

✔ Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

May vary by instructor.

Course schedule/Required learning

	Course schedule	Required learning
Class 1	Japanese traditional culture. Tea ceremony Part 1	Understand the spirit/the history of Japanese tea ceremony.
Class 2	Japanese traditional culture. Tea ceremony Part 2	Same as above.
Class 3	History of Japanese science and technology ① Edo Period	Understand the banning of fire-arms in the early Edo period as a unique example in the history of technology.
Class 4	History of Japanese science and technology ② Meiji Modernization and Industrialization	Understand Morris-Suzuki's 'The Technological Transformation of Japan, 1-142 (esp.71-104).
Class 5	Historical and contemporary issues in Japanese design	Report paper.
Class 6	Japanese language communication. Elementary school visit, part 1	Learn how a Japanese elementary school is run and how school children are taught international awareness.
Class 7	Japanese language communication. Elementary school visit, part 2	In the school visit, participants will improvise ways of introducing culture by using simple methods.
Class 8	Domestic industry visit.　 Asahi Glass Co., Part 1	Report paper.
Class 9	Domestic industry visit. Asahi Glass Co., Part 2	Report paper.
Class 10	Introduction to Computer Science and Computer Science Research in Tokyo Institute of Technology	Learn basics of computer science and see our school's world leading research in computer science.
Class 11	Computer Science Research in Tokyo Institute of Technology	Learn vision-based human-computer interaction, in particular interactive surfaces and digital sports.
Class 12	History of Japanese science and technology ③ History of Japanese physics and physicists in Showa Period	Understand physicist Yoshio Nishina's contribution to the Japanese physics.
Class 13	Presentation for assessment. Part 1	Students will present individual oral reports on what they learned themselves based on their own experiences during their stay in Japan.
Class 14	Presentation for assessment. Part 2	Same as above.

Textbook(s)

Handouts will be given in each class.

Reference books, course materials, etc.

For history of Japanese science and techonology: Noel Perrin, Giving up the Gun: Japan's Reversion to the Sword, 1543-1879, (1988), Tessa Morris-Suzuki, The Technological Transformation of Japan (CUP, 1994); Fukuzawa Yukichi, An Outline of a Theory of Civilization (1875) (Sophia, 1973); James R. Bartholomew, The Formation of Science in Japan (Yale, 1993); Masayuki Tanimoto, ed., The Role of Tradition in Japan's Industrialization (OUP, 2006); Osamu Kanamori, ed., Essays on the History of Scientific Thought in Modern Japan (Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture, 2016); Shigeru Nakayama with Kunio Goto and Hitoshi Yoshioka, eds., A Social History of Science and Technology in Contemporary Japan, Volume 1-4 (Trans Pacific Press, 2001).

Assessment criteria and methods

Students will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis based on attendance, report papers, and final presentation and contribution to it.

Related courses

LAW.X420 ： Japan Studies I

Prerequisites (i.e., required knowledge, skills, courses, etc.)

None.

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