KANSAI GAIDAI UNIVERSITY

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Education and Society in AsiaHow can sociology help us understand education in Asia? This course attempts to show the scope and usefulness of sociological theorizing to comprehend the educational processes in Asia. In the course students will emphasize the diversity of theoretical approaches, issues in the field and the application of this knowl-edge to the understanding that an individual position in society largely depends on schooling. Education is changing rapidly and it is not an easy task to present the excitement of a dynamic field with diverse and disparate topics. Despite these challenges, the course will present the development to date of the sociological study of education in Asia, and assess the strengths and weakness of current educational policies in order to point out the prospects for the future.Society, Health and Wellbeing The study of health and illness from a sociological perspec-tive in Japan are discussed in this course, where the outcomes of sickness and disease are analysed in relation to the organi-sation of society. In the analysis, inequalities of class, gender, and ethnicity are emphasised, as it is understood that disease and inequality are intimately related. Unequal political, economic and social resources are mirrored in the group and individual patterns of health and illness. By highlighting the relationship between social structures and the production and distribution of health and disease in modern Japanese society, the focus of this course is the links between social factors and health and disease.Global and Transnational SociologyGlobalization’s economic dimensions are often the most salient in the news and in our immediate lives, but they are much more complex and have multiple interweaving dimensions. We will explore not only economic, but also demographic, political, and cultural dimensions. Importantly, we will think about how globalization manifests itself along global, organizational, national, and individual levels, while critically assessing positive and negative impacts. Substantively, we will touch on topics such as transnational corporations and global commodity chains, trade and capital flows, international migration, international organizations, transnational advocacy initiatives, norm diffusion, cultural imperialism, cultural homogenization and hybridization, etc.Comparative SociologySociology is an academic discipline, but it is also a “tool box” of ideas and concepts that help us understand the world around us and our own experiences within that world. Drawing from the social realities of Japan and other parts of the world, we will discuss foundational sociological topics such as culture, socializa-tion, deviance, stratification, inequality, gender, race and ethnici-ty, family, and education. Students will use their “sociological imaginations” to think critically about various sociological concepts and theories, apply that knowledge to make sense of the past and present, and think comparatively about their own unique experiences in Japan and the broader social contexts of the world.Medicine and Health Care in East AsiaIn this course students are invited to think about one of the most serious issues affecting contemporary East Asian societies: the provision of health care for an ageing population. The first part of the module is a general review of concepts that have been used to explain medicine and health care-related issues. The second part of the course explores how the concepts of social class, gender, race and ethnicity can help understand the provision of health care in East Asia,. The last part of the course draws on mental health-related issues to shed light on how anxiety disorders affect East Asian societies and enlarge social inequality among ageing populations.Cool Japan and Korean wave (Nichiryu and Hallyu) in the WorldThis course is an overview of how the Cool Japan (Nichiryu) and the Korean Wave (Hallyu) movements have changed global mass media and the popular culture market. The course will provide students with a theoretical founda-tion with which they can tackle the cultural and social principles of pop culture, pop culture industries, and the globalization of the cultural industries. The course will introduce manga/anime, J-pop, J-drama, K-pop, and K-dra-ma as its main case studies.The History and Culture of Japanese Martial Arts (Kendo/Jodo)This course will introduce Japanese martial arts (budō), focusing on Kendō (sword-play) and Jōdō (stick-play). The objectives of the course will be to provide the students with basic ASIA/JAPAN STUDIES COURSESSociology and Sociological MethodsCool Japan27