Foundations of Environmental Sciences I

Professor Mimura will have a seminar based on reading Fairchild Ruggles, Islamicate Environments: Water, Land, Plants, and Society (Cambridge University Press, 2025), and will discuss, with some introductory lectures, the historical importance of environmental factors for Islamic societies. Professor Okamoto will conduct a reading seminar and/or give lectures on the history and current situation of the power industry in Japan. The reading assignments will be on three or four of the following issues: the establishment of the first electric light industry in Tokyo; jurists and physicists’ debate over electricity theft; attempts and failure in the frequency unification; the development of nuclear power in postwar Japan; reform of the industry after March 11, 2011; lessons of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident. More specifically, chapters and articles in the following publications may be assigned to read and discuss: J. Ahn et al. eds., Reflections on the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident, Springer, 2015, E.D. Blandford et al. eds., Learning from a Disaster, Stanford Security Studies, 2016, and Technology and Culture, 58:1 (2017). Professor Ishihara will lecture on environmental philosophy, dealing with the following topics and issues: relationships between nature, animals, and humans; philosophical discussions on environmental issues; human mind and environment (extended mind hypothesis). Each student will be required to give a presentation on a topic related to the topics covered by the lecture.

Lectures and students' presentations

Participation and final report

To be announced during lectures

To be announced during lectures

The course will be provided in English. The classes (including the first one) will be given viz-à-viz. For details please refer to UTOL.

For details please refer to UTOL.