Learn history, think about society, think about yourself, and contemplate your own way of life and the way you do things.
Research Themes
Studying history is not just about memorization or accumulating knowledge. Of course, a minimum level of knowledge is necessary, but historical research begins with finding your own theme and exploring that theme. Rather than just picking up on past events, you also need to follow how your predecessors wrote about them, and then write your own narrative on the theme, completing it as a graduation thesis.
Activities
In the second-year seminar, we start by reading a book in a group. What we read changes every year, but we try to choose introductory books that teach about the historical relationship between Japan and the West, the process by which the West came to dominate the world historically, and the historical process by which the collective entity known as Europe was formed. As we read the book, we find a topic to research, and then we research and summarize it in groups. In the process, we learn how to read books and papers, and we also learn skills that will be useful in society, such as how to create handouts, how to give oral presentations, and how to work collaboratively.
From the third year onwards, students will narrow down their focus to a period, region and theme based on their own interests, reading related books and papers and writing reports on them.