This course introduces fundamental concepts in modern biology, with a focus on understanding life at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels. Students will explore how molecules form cells, how genes and genomes store and express information, and how these processes shape organisms, immunity, and populations. The main objectives are: 1) to acquire essential vocabulary and core concepts in life science (genes, genome, cells, molecular biology, immunity, and population genetics) 2) to understand how these concepts are connected across different biological scales 3) to practice explaining biological ideas clearly in English Non-native English speakers are welcome. The course is designed as an accessible introduction to biology in English, and provides opportunities to interact with English-speaking peers while building confidence in both scientific understanding and communication.

広く産学官にわたってグローバルに活躍するために必要な「俯瞰力」を養成することを目指す。物質科学の各分野について最先端の知識を修得し、自分の専門分野と周辺分野がどのように関連するか、あるいはし得るか、について深く考察するために、第一線で活躍する講師の方々にその分野の最前線を概観していただく。さらに、それらの講義を通して異分野間のコミュニケーションを円滑に進めるための具体的方法論を学ぶ。 This survey course is designed to enable students to develop the broad perspective that is required of global leaders working in and across industry, academia, and government. Students will gain knowledge and insight on advancements in each field of materials science research, given by leading researchers working on the frontline in those fields. This will allow students to consider how peripheral fields are related to their own area of expertise, and to consider the potential for forging bridges between related fields in the future. In addition, students will learn specific methodologies designed to facilitate smooth communication among different disciplines.

-The first objective of the course if for students to acquire conceptual, theoretical, and empirical knowledge of autocratization in current global politics. The concept of autocratization will be discussed and contrasted to that of democratization. Students will learn and discuss how autocratization is measured by leading independent assessing institutions (e.g. V-Dem, EUI, Freedom House). The second objective of the course is for students to acquire conceptual, theoretical, and empirical knowledge of the meanings, causes, and effects of populism as well as its historical and current character in various contexts. Thereby, students will be able to understand the role of populism, if any, in countries undergoing a reversal in the quality of democracy. The students will also develop the ability to assess different academic perspectives on populism and to independently and critically analyze populist rhetoric, as well as the social, economic and political conditions that promotes the growth of populism. The course includes and analyzes prominent recent examples of populist leaders and regimes, including tools they have used to come to power and keep it.

The first objective of the course if for students to acquire conceptual, theoretical, and empirical knowledge of autocratization in current global politics. The concept of autocratization will be discussed and contrasted to that of democratization. Students will learn and discuss how autocratization is measured by leading independent assessing institutions (e.g. V-Dem, EUI, Freedom House). The second objective of the course is for students to acquire conceptual, theoretical, and empirical knowledge of the meanings, causes, and effects of populism as well as its historical and current character in various contexts. Thereby, students will be able to understand the role of populism, if any, in countries undergoing a reversal in the quality of democracy. The students will also develop the ability to assess different academic perspectives on populism and to independently and critically analyze populist rhetoric, as well as the social, economic and political conditions that promotes the growth of populism. The course includes and analyzes prominent recent examples of populist leaders and regimes, including tools they have used to come to power and keep it.

Do we speak the way we do because of who we are, or do we become gendered (i.e., unequally positioned) through the way we speak? The question is complicated by the fact that "gender" points to at least two different things: something individuals are said to have, and something societies use to distribute power. This course introduces the study of language and gender as a field of sociolinguistic and linguistic-anthropological inquiry. Moving beyond the assumptions that men and women simply "speak differently" and that language merely "reflects" innate differences and pre-existing states of the world, we examine how gender is produced, negotiated, and contested through everyday linguistic practice. Drawing on Eckert and McConnell-Ginet's Language and Gender as our theoretical anchor, the course traces the field from its foundational debates to current work on ideology, indexicality, and the discursive construction of gendered subjects. In the latter half, we turn to contemporary cases to ask how these frameworks illuminate emerging sites of linguistic and social conflict. By the end of the course, students will be able to: (1) Explain the major theoretical developments in the study of language and gender, from early accounts of gender difference to current approaches grounded in practice, indexicality, and language ideology. (2) Analyze language practices (including talk, text, and media discourse) to show how gendered meanings are produced rather than simply expressed, supporting claims with evidence from the data itself. (3) Apply these frameworks to a case of their own choosing, situating a contemporary site of gendered language use within the theoretical debates of the field.

Do we speak the way we do because of who we are, or do we become gendered (i.e., unequally positioned) through the way we speak? The question is complicated by the fact that "gender" points to at least two different things: something individuals are said to have, and something societies use to distribute power. This course introduces the study of language and gender as a field of sociolinguistic and linguistic-anthropological inquiry. Moving beyond the assumptions that men and women simply "speak differently" and that language merely "reflects" innate differences and pre-existing states of the world, we examine how gender is produced, negotiated, and contested through everyday linguistic practice. Drawing on Eckert and McConnell-Ginet's Language and Gender as our theoretical anchor, the course traces the field from its foundational debates to current work on ideology, indexicality, and the discursive construction of gendered subjects. In the latter half, we turn to contemporary cases to ask how these frameworks illuminate emerging sites of linguistic and social conflict. By the end of the course, students will be able to: (1) Explain the major theoretical developments in the study of language and gender, from early accounts of gender difference to current approaches grounded in practice, indexicality, and language ideology. (2) Analyze language practices (including talk, text, and media discourse) to show how gendered meanings are produced rather than simply expressed, supporting claims with evidence from the data itself. (3) Apply these frameworks to a case of their own choosing, situating a contemporary site of gendered language use within the theoretical debates of the field.

本授業では、ジェンダーと家族にかかわる政策の特徴、争点および政策過程を分析する視点、概念、方法を習得し、具体的な事例を取り上げて政策と政策過程を分析できるようになることを目標とする。分析対象としては主に日本の事例を取り上げつつ、日本の特徴を把握するという目的から他国との比較の視点も取り入れる。 The aim of this course is to acquire perspectives, concepts, and methods for analyzing the characteristics, key issues, and policy processes related to gender and family policies, and to develop the ability to analyze policies and policy processes through a few case studies. While the primary focus is on cases from Japan, a comparative studies is also examined in order to better understand the distinctive features of Japan's policies and politics.

本授業では、ジェンダーと家族にかかわる政策の特徴、争点および政策過程を分析する視点、概念、方法を習得し、具体的な事例を取り上げて政策と政策過程を分析できるようになることを目標とする。分析対象としては主に日本の事例を取り上げつつ、日本の特徴を把握するという目的から他国との比較の視点も取り入れる。 The aim of this course is to acquire perspectives, concepts, and methods for analyzing the characteristics, key issues, and policy processes related to gender and family policies, and to develop the ability to analyze policies and policy processes through a few case studies. While the primary focus is on cases from Japan, a comparative studies is also examined in order to better understand the distinctive features of Japan's policies and politics.

本授業では、ジェンダーと家族にかかわる政策の特徴、争点および政策過程を分析する視点、概念、方法を習得し、具体的な事例を取り上げて政策と政策過程を分析できるようになることを目標とする。分析対象としては主に日本の事例を取り上げつつ、日本の特徴を把握するという目的から他国との比較の視点も取り入れる。 The aim of this course is to acquire perspectives, concepts, and methods for analyzing the characteristics, key issues, and policy processes related to gender and family policies, and to develop the ability to analyze policies and policy processes through a few case studies. While the primary focus is on cases from Japan, a comparative studies is also examined in order to better understand the distinctive features of Japan's policies and politics.

What is for a person to live a good life, that is, a life that it good for the person? It is usually said that a good life consists in the happiness – or well-being – of the person. But what, then, is well-being? Philosophers have given various answers to this question, and raised challenges to the coherence or utility of the notion itself. This course will survey the major philosophical theories of well-being.