|
Doctoral Program
Comparative Studies of Societies and Cultures
Global political and economic changes in recent years, in addition to rapid changes in information transmission, have changed the way humans, society, and culture exist in this world. On one hand, there is diversification and individualization, and on the other hand, there is more uniformity and standardization. Such changes call urgently for the reevaluation of the existing notions of "humans", "society", and "culture", as well as for the intertwining of fields in modern learning and the creation of new academic fields.
In view of this situation, Comparative Studies of Societies and Cultures first encourages a firm grasp of specialized knowledge in an existing field of study in human cultures and society. The graduate division aims to foster women scholars who will utilize such specialized knowledge to lead a globalizing modern society in aspects of philosophy and culture, and who will be able through highly interdisciplinary, comprehensive and international research to contribute to new international cooperative efforts based on multicultural understandings. Thus far, the graduate division has seen excellent results of education and research by international students from Asia, and hopes to strengthen educational and research efforts with Western and other international institutions to create an Asian center of information targeting Asia.
The Comparative Studies of Societies and Cultures graduate division has regrouped the nine departments in the master's program into four areas of study. The doctoral program is in coordination with the master's program and strives to provide a consistent learning environment for deepening the specialized knowledge required for highly comprehensive research and for fostering creative interdisciplinary skills. The advisor system, in which faculty of multiple related fields are involved in the teaching process, and the new minor system implemented in the 2005 school year (currently "Resources of Equal Participation of Men and Women" and "Cultural Management" are underway) helps to break down the walls between specialized fields. In terms of educational organization, too, the division aims to broaden the academic interests of students and encourage independent and self-reliant research attitudes.
The division fully supports students who wish to receive doctorates early. Students will be provided a variety of international learning opportunities through cooperation with universities abroad and in international symposia held by the University and affiliated organizations.
The Comparative Studies of Societies and Cultures graduate division will offer four areas of study: Japanese Studies in a Global Perspective; Language, Literature and Culture; Comparative Social Studies; and Arts and Representational Studies.
Department of Japanese Studies in a Global Perspective
Japanese Studies in a Global Perspective is the university's designated area of strategic research and education. The department supports internationally diverse current trends in graduate school education in the area of Japanese studies through comprehensive studies of literature, linguistics, history, archaeology, philosophy, culture, and body theory. The department aims to foster scholars of Japanese studies active in the worldwide dissemination of information and to develop into an internationally acclaimed center for Japanese studies.
Department of Language, Literature and Culture
Language, Literature and Culture targets the literature, cultural expressions, and critical study of the Chinese-speaking world, English-speaking world, French-speaking world, and German-speaking world, in addition to linguistics and language education theories including Japanese language education. Students will deepen their knowledge of the literature and language of their concentration and simultaneously acquire a research attitude that encompasses other languages and fields. The course aims to foster women specialists who are able, from the point of international cooperation, to develop and advise on modern cultural and critical functions affected by languages.
Department of Comparative Social Studies
In Comparative Social Studies, topics ranging from philosophy, thought, history, and sports are discussed for a comparative and interactive research of Japan and Asian, Western, and Islamic areas. The course aims to foster women committed to the realization of equality and freedom, with the ability to consider existent philosophies and histories in the process of creating a new humanities required by modern society.
Department of Arts and Representational Studies
Arts and Representational Studies is the specialized and interdisciplinary research and teaching of cultural expressions focusing on art and design, fashion, culture theory, dance, music, and museology. In particular, there will be emphasis on the integration of theory and application in dance and music. Students will develop the skills to utilize culture as a powerful medium for deepening human understanding and promoting international cooperation.
Human Developmental Sciences
The Human Developmental Sciences Division approaches issues in human development from both interdisciplinary and specialized perspectives, and views the subject as both a social being and an individual. The graduate division aims to foster women in academia and experts in various fields based on the pillars of educational science, psychology, developmental and clinical psychology, applied sociology, and child care.
The doctoral program comprises the following five areas of study: Educational Science, Psychology, Developmental and Clinical Psychology, Sociology and Social Policy, and Study of Child and Child Care. The Human Developmental Sciences Division brings together a wide range of academic fields concerned with the development of the human mind and the development of social environments for interdisciplinary, comprehensive education and research. The division aims to foster women researchers and professionals who will further advance knowledge of their specialized fields in human development and be committed to resolving the various urgent social issues of human development.
Interdisciplinary education is emphasized in The Human Developmental Sciences Division and is realized not only by bringing together various research fields, but also by offering concrete options in the curriculum. In the proposed reorganization, the "Social Communication" and "Human Developmental and Environmental Sciences" programs are newly established to encourage students to be proactive and independent. Students will deepen a field of expertise while simultaneously pursuing interdisciplinary methodologies and knowledge in order to pave the way for a variety of career paths. Specifically, the following types of graduates are expected: women with an understanding of the dynamics of social environments, life environments and human development, such as international government workers and researchers at higher education and research institutions; university professors with advanced research and education skills in the fields of educational science, psychology, and sociology; women qualified to teach future clinical psychologists or social scientists; women with knowledge of child development and education methodologies who will be leaders of child development and education advisers in local city offices; educators with excellent policy and application abilities who are qualified to provide reflexive education to teachers and school staff.
Department of Educational Science
In Educational Science, the process of development a person undergoes in a lifetime is examined scientifically using various methodologies. Research is conducted for the practical resolution of various issues in education.
Department of Psychology
In Psychology, human psychological mechanisms is analyzed. Students are expected to gain a multidimensional and comprehensive understanding of these mechanisms on both a time axis (development) and in spatial terms (society), with the brain as the focus of study.
Department of Developmental and Clinical Psychology
Developmental and Clinical Psychology is concentrated on the teaching and research of developmental and clinical psychology. Students develop expertise in psychoclinical, developmental issues based on clinical psychology in a variety of settings and social systems such as family, education, medicine, well-fare, judicial services and business.
Department of Sociology and Social Policy
Sociology and Social Policy is concentrated on the teaching and research of theoretical and applied sociology (family, culture, communication and social stratification studies, in particular) and social policy.
Study of Child and Child Care
Study of Child and Child Care targets mainly professionals in child care and child development. Students are expected gain a multifaceted understanding of the various issues occurring in these environments, the development and psychology of individuals, the interactions in such environments, as well as the influences of society and histories. Analyses and the development of strategies appropriate for the individual environments will also be conducted.
Interdisciplinary Gender Studies
Currently, there are very few graduate schools in Japan that offer doctoral programs in women studies / gender theory. Furthermore, there are very few educators in advanced gender studies despite the notable growth of women studies and gender education at Japanese undergraduate institutions in recent years and despite the pressing societal need for such personnel.
This graduate division takes the comprehensive nature of gender studies into account and emphasizes the establishment of gender studies as an academic research field. Founded in April 2005 as part of the efforts of the 21st Century COE Program "Frontiers of Gender Studies" to enhance doctoral programs in the field of gender studies, it is the first independent graduate division in Japan to promote interdisciplinary gender studies covering social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences.
Department of Gender Studies
The faculty consists of experts in economics, law, sociology, women's studies, education, cultural anthropology, geography, and environmental studies among other fields. The doctoral program courses are based on a foundation in their respective academic fields and require students to analyze current issues in society, such as sexuality, family, labor, human rights, education, development aid, environment, and technology, from the viewpoint of gender. The program is designed to allow students to strengthen their academic foundations according to their own awareness of issues while investigating research subjects from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Ochanomizu University has thus far granted numerous doctorates in gender studies, and there are many faculty members in other graduate divisions (such as Comparative Studies of Societies and Cultures division, Human Developmental Sciences division) who have conducted research in gender-related studies. Furthermore, in terms of curriculum, the boundaries between graduate divisions are easily crossed; students are encouraged to take courses in other graduate divisions, study under faculty of other divisions, and engage readily in interdisciplinary research. All education and research resources (including the Institute for Gender Studies, a university-wide education and research institution) are utilized to their maximum potential as interdisciplinary efforts in order to foster highly advanced specialists. Furthermore, the doctoral program works in coordination with the Gender and Social Sciences master's program to provide a more systematic approach to the education environment and to add to the overall learning experience.
Recent doctoral dissertations (in English or in Japanese with English abstract)
Multi-tiered Politics of Remittance: The Case of Filipina Domestic Workers in the Global Elites' Households of Tokyo. (in English)
"Geographical Knowledge" and American Female Missionaries in Meiji Era Japan. (in Japanese with English abstract)
The Reconstruction of "Local" in Samoa: Samoan Women's Producing and Consuming of 'Clothes.' (in Japanese with English abstract)
Life Sciences
The lives of human beings are possible only in harmony with the environment. However, in the pursuit of conveniences available with technological advances, it is undeniable that the Earth as an environment is facing a crisis. It is expected in these circumstances that life sciences, the study of life and daily living, will come to the forefront as the science of the 21st century.
In the Life Sciences graduate division, the existing academic fields of science, technology, and life sciences (which range from basic biological science to biotechnology) are integrated organically to provide a new kind of learning and research environment. The graduate division focuses on the global environment as it affects human beings and also healthy life-and-living styles to make the shift towards a sustainable world in which the human race and the environment can coexist. Based on these principles, the Life Sciences doctoral program will build on the interdisciplinary approach taken in the master's program and encourage advanced education in specialized fields to conduct highly original and advanced research.
Five areas of study are established in this graduate division: Biological Sciences, Human Environmental Sciences, Food and Nutritional Sciences, Genetic Counseling, and Genetic Counseling (Japan Science and Technology Agency Initiative Course).
Department of Biological Sciences
Biological Sciences involve the study of various organisms including the human being at the gene, genome, biomolecule, and cell levels, to bring to light the relationships between living beings and the environment.
Department of Human Environmental Sciences
Human Environmental Sciences focus on various environmental issues stemming from the daily lives of humans. Origins and characteristics of the human as a living being, human biophysiological mechanisms, as well as interactions between the human body and the environment will be examined.
Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences
Food and Nutritional Sciences range from basic food research to the development of applications. Research will involve establishing healthy food styles, analyzing and resolving issues in the prevention and medical care of lifestyle-related diseases, and examining food safety issues.
Department of Genetic Counseling
Genetic Counseling will foster educators and researchers of genetic conditions and related interdisciplinary issues who will become leading experts in genetic counseling.
Advanced Sciences
The Advanced Sciences division emphasizes the nature of academic fields in the sciences as basic sciences and encourages specialized knowledge in the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computer science. The division also aims to foster broad, flexible attitudes of learning that will be effective in related fields of study as well as new, emerging fields.
Compared to Western countries, there are currently very few Japanese women with doctorates in the sciences, and there is a pressing societal need for more women researchers. In the face of major advancements in scientific technology in recent years, there is a real need for creative researchers with both a high level of expertise and the breadth and vision to connect their area of expertise with other fields. Based on the foundations gained in the Advanced Sciences master's program, the doctoral program provides an even more specialized education that is simultaneously varied and integrated in order to foster women leaders in various fields with science doctorates.
The Advanced Sciences graduate division consists of four departments: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Computer Science.
Department of Mathematics
In Mathematics, highly specialized academic research in the pure mathematics fields of algebra, analysis, and geometry will be conducted. In addition, specialized research in academic fields ranging from the natural to the social sciences and humanities will be offered, as well as in applied mathematics, in which mathematical methodologies are applied to various issues in real life and society.
Department of Physics
In Physics, highly advanced research and education in the various fields of physics and related areas will be conducted, in order to foster researchers with expertise and the ability to grow in their respective fields.
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
In Chemistry and Biochemistry, the variety of organic, inorganic, metal complex molecules and molecular clusters that make up substance will be studied. Furthermore, the biomolecules that constitute living organisms such as carbohydrate and protein will be studied with an emphasis on the fundamentals but also in relation to broader academic research in fields such as material science, substance production science, complex system science, and biological science.
Department of Computer Science
In Computer Science, information will be understood from a scientific logical point of view with a solid and wide-ranging understanding of the natural sciences and mathematics. The aim of the education and research is to foster researchers and engineers with the ability to analyze and process such information and design appropriate systems.
|
|
