Information, Technology, and Society in Asia 139

This graduate course is the first series of lectures that critically examine and evaluate the history of major intellectuals and scholars of or associated with the University of Tokyo in the modern period. By examining various intellectual legacies of one of the most important research and education institutions in Japan and the world, this course aims to generate critical understanding of modern knowledge production and circulation in relation to social change and cultural formation in Japan. By so doing, potential contribution of Japanese scholarship to the understanding of contemporary (global) issues will be explored.

Every year, a specific theme or period or prominent intellectual figures will be identified for focused study and discussion, and scholars working on that specific topic are invited from within or outside of Japan to lecture and generate classroom discussions. For 2018, the lectures will focus on the question of “the social” and address the issues of how (Japanese) society has been understood by scholars of the University of Tokyo and what social implications their understanding has generated. We arranged six lectures by two sociologists, one economist, and one anthropologist to approach this set of questions.