Courses

• Course of Language and Culture [Discipline I]

  Interdisciplinary Cultural Formations

  　This study field researches concepts and phenomena related to cultures, societies, thoughts, and histories from the ancient time to the present from a broad perspective beyond the boundaries of disciplines, aiming to construct an integral knowledge system to investigate various aspects of cultural formation and transformation from different angles. We nurture the students' capacity and sense to analyze these themes through literature, cultural theories, and fieldwork, from an interdisciplinary perspective in relation to various disciplines.

  Culture and Representation

  　We analyze the mechanisms of multidimensional production, reception, and transmission of various texts and representations, including print and video, with the aim of clarifying a wide variety of cultural phenomena. Specifically, we will conduct research on cultural transformation, translation, and adaptation that occur when people come into contact with different languages and cultures, compare the diachronic and synchronic aspects of the language and culture of different regions and peoples, and systematically examine the dynamics of cultural industries, popular culture, and media culture.

• Course of Language and Culture [Discipline II]

  Sociolinguistic and Communication Sciences

  　The study field of Sociolinguistic and Communication Sciences is committed to examine the emerging problems in the real world from the perspective of "communication." We are intent on synergizing practical skills to overcome such problems for realization of a fairer society with theories derived from various fields related to language in context. The study field also emphasizes the ability to design communication as well as language and cultural literacy that creates symbiosis in modern society where multiple languages and cultures coexist and often compete against each other.

  Second Language Education

  　This study field explores the ways in which people use, learn, and teach languages other than their first language. With a strong practical emphasis on the teaching and learning of the second language, it also covers other research areas such as social, cultural, and psychological aspects of second language education.

• Course of Language and Culture [Discipline III]

  Theoretical Linguistics and Digital Humanities

  　Our study field conducts research on the structures and functions of natural language, analyzing and describing universal rules and principles that govern the human language faculty. We look at the system of language from synchronic and diachronic perspectives. We also work on theoretical frameworks and methodologies for the digital processing and analysis of language and cultural-historical resources. Cross-disciplinary analyses of large-scale text corpora and digital archives, using advanced statistical modeling and machine learning, are combined with detailed text analysis and insights from our expertise in language and humanities studies.

  Language and Cognitive Sciences

  　This study field explores the structures and processes of language abilities as one human cognitive mechanism through scientific perception of human cognitive systems from the viewpoint of language information processing―how humans recognize the outside world, acquire knowledge, and process various information. Additionally, regarding cognitive linguistics ―which occupies such a position in linguistics―we conduct research that bridges and applies to both theoretical frameworks and specific linguistic research.