"The Art of Attention" explores attention as a social, cultural, and personal phenomenon, with a special focus on the concept of Radical Human Attention. Drawing on philosophical, psychological, and sociocultural perspectives, the course examines various attentional practices and their applications in everyday life, art, and social change. 「注意の技法」は、注意を社会的、文化的、個人的な現象として探求し、特にラディカル・ヒューマン・アテンションの概念に焦点を当てます。哲学的、心理学的、社会文化的な観点を取り入れ、日常生活、芸術、社会変革におけるさまざまな注意の実践とその応用を検討します。」

"The Art of Attention" explores attention as a social, cultural, and personal phenomenon, with a special focus on the concept of Radical Human Attention. Drawing on philosophical, psychological, and sociocultural perspectives, the course examines various attentional practices and their applications in everyday life, art, and social change. 「注意の技法」は、注意を社会的、文化的、個人的な現象として探求し、特にラディカル・ヒューマン・アテンションの概念に焦点を当てます。哲学的、心理学的、社会文化的な観点を取り入れ、日常生活、芸術、社会変革におけるさまざまな注意の実践とその応用を検討します。」

Is there such a thing called Japanese philosophy? While there is a tendency to think of philosophy as uniquely Western, with some developments having sprouts and branches in Indian and Chinese history, what is not as well-known is that there was an original philosophy that emerged out of 20th Century Japan. What we will look at in this course is one strand of Japanese philosophy: the Kyoto School philosophy (京都学派). The Kyoto School is a name given to a philosophical movement that took place around Kyoto University that both assimilated and challenged the foundational claims within Western philosophy by drawing on its own intellectual heritages and ideas and used them to reformulate religious, political, and moral viewpoints that are unique to the East Asian cultural tradition, and perhaps to the rest of the world, while maintaining a dialogue with its Western counterpart. What makes this school important and relevant to contemporary philosophy is the fact they took a bipedal stance between the East and West. The goal for many of these philosophers was not to advance a particular Eastern philosophical standpoint as such, but to put forth a vision of dialogue among a multiplicity of worlds. In this sense, the Kyoto School appears rather cosmopolitan when compared with other European or American schools of thought at that time. Given the increasingly global context we currently live in, it is becoming certain that we need other philosophical discourses that are not Western grounded to further understand the pressures, diversity, and problems of contemporary life. This course will discuss the major figures, principles, and historical controversies of the Kyoto School philosophy and bring these thinkers into conversation within Western philosophy in order to engage the problems of today’s global world. These thinkers shared cosmopolitan visions of the future, seeking to address issues related to colonialism, social conflict, and self/cultural identity; and if we read these thinkers more hermeneutically, we can find that their work touches on issues that afflict us today as well: issues, such as environmental degradation, military escalation, and excess capitalism. Finally, note that this is part I of a sequence of courses I call “The History of Japanese Philosophy” (with part II focusing on the social philosophy of Japanese history and part III on the Marxist tradition within the history of Japanese thought). Ultimately, what this course aims to do is to have students exercise their analytical and critical thinking skills in English by deploying these authors or texts in the service of demonstrating their relevance to the sustainable development goals that is the center of Global Liberal Arts classes (or students can do the opposite, as an option—to disprove their relevance!). In this course, the students will: a) know who the major figures of the Kyoto School are; b) learn the fundamental arguments proposed by leading Kyoto School thinkers; c) understand and discuss the controversies around the Kyoto School; d) explore the personal, social, and political issues raised by the Kyoto School; e) and theorize the possible connections or relevance the Kyoto School has to contemporary problems or issues related to the sustainable development goals

Is there such a thing called Japanese philosophy? While there is a tendency to think of philosophy as uniquely Western, with some developments having sprouts and branches in Indian and Chinese history, what is not as well-known is that there was an original philosophy that emerged out of 20th Century Japan. What we will look at in this course is one strand of Japanese philosophy: the Kyoto School philosophy (京都学派). The Kyoto School is a name given to a philosophical movement that took place around Kyoto University that both assimilated and challenged the foundational claims within Western philosophy by drawing on its own intellectual heritages and ideas and used them to reformulate religious, political, and moral viewpoints that are unique to the East Asian cultural tradition, and perhaps to the rest of the world, while maintaining a dialogue with its Western counterpart. What makes this school important and relevant to contemporary philosophy is the fact they took a bipedal stance between the East and West. The goal for many of these philosophers was not to advance a particular Eastern philosophical standpoint as such, but to put forth a vision of dialogue among a multiplicity of worlds. In this sense, the Kyoto School appears rather cosmopolitan when compared with other European or American schools of thought at that time. Given the increasingly global context we currently live in, it is becoming certain that we need other philosophical discourses that are not Western grounded to further understand the pressures, diversity, and problems of contemporary life. This course will discuss the major figures, principles, and historical controversies of the Kyoto School philosophy and bring these thinkers into conversation within Western philosophy in order to engage the problems of today’s global world. These thinkers shared cosmopolitan visions of the future, seeking to address issues related to colonialism, social conflict, and self/cultural identity; and if we read these thinkers more hermeneutically, we can find that their work touches on issues that afflict us today as well: issues, such as environmental degradation, military escalation, and excess capitalism. Finally, note that this is part I of a sequence of courses I call “The History of Japanese Philosophy” (with part II focusing on the social philosophy of Japanese history and part III on the Marxist tradition within the history of Japanese thought). Ultimately, what this course aims to do is to have students exercise their analytical and critical thinking skills in English by deploying these authors or texts in the service of demonstrating their relevance to the sustainable development goals that is the center of Global Liberal Arts classes (or students can do the opposite, as an option—to disprove their relevance!). In this course, the students will: a) know who the major figures of the Kyoto School are; b) learn the fundamental arguments proposed by leading Kyoto School thinkers; c) understand and discuss the controversies around the Kyoto School; d) explore the personal, social, and political issues raised by the Kyoto School; e) and theorize the possible connections or relevance the Kyoto School has to contemporary problems or issues related to the sustainable development goals

"War is hell," said General William Tecumseh Sherman. He knew exactly what he meant. After all, he was the man who led the “March to the Sea" during the American Civil War, mercilessly burning and destroying every Southern town he came across. The 20th century, sometimes called the "century of war," made his words far more prophetic than he could have ever imagined. At least 108 million people have in died in wars during the 20th century. This is a staggering number, in comparison to those who died from all wars through the entirety of preceding human history, between 150 million and one billion people. And even now, more than 20 years into the 21st century, wars show no sign of ceasing. Why have modernization and science, which supposedly contributed to human progress, not yet abolished this barbaric practice of "war"? In 1947, three years after the term "genocide" was coined to describe the systematic destruction of particular race or ethnic group, comedian Charlie Chaplin remarked in his film Monsieur Verdoux: "One murder makes a villain; millions, a hero. Numbers sanctify, my good fellow.” What history and power make this absurdity possible? And what should be done to resolve it? In this class, we will explore the answers to these questions through various documentaries, texts, and vigorous discussion.

In this course, students learn about STS (Science, Technology and Society) through case studies. What is this called science? How can we manage the conflicts between S&T and Society? Who are the experts? These questions appear in various issues around us, such as the pandemic of COVID-19, environmental problems, disasters, and governance of emerging technologies. In this course, we learn about, and discuss cases from STS perspectives. Students are required to do their own case analysis in their final report.

In this course, students learn about STS (Science, Technology and Society) through case studies. What is this called science? How can we manage the conflicts between S&T and Society? Who are the experts? These questions appear in various issues around us, such as the pandemic of COVID-19, environmental problems, disasters, and governance of emerging technologies. In this course, we learn about, and discuss cases from STS perspectives. Students are required to do their own case analysis in their final report.

Statistics and biometrics have emerged as crucial disciplines not only in agricultural sciences but also in various other fields. This significance is primarily attributed to three factors: Firstly, advancements in data measurement techniques have facilitated the collection of extensive and diverse biological and agronomic data that were previously unattainable. Secondly, the evolution of data science methodologies has enabled the integration and modeling of such collected data. Thirdly, the enhancement of computational capabilities has empowered the utilization of these methodologies. These advancements have rendered statistical and biometric methods indispensable for extracting insights from the vast and varied biological and agronomic datasets. Throughout this lecture series, a diverse array of biological and agronomic datasets will serve as illustrative examples to demonstrate various analytical methods. Delivered in a hands-on format, utilizing R, Python, and Matlab, the aim is to equip students with practical analysis skills. The initial portion of the course, spanning the first one-third, will focus primarily on techniques for summarizing, visualizing, and modeling relationships within multivariate datasets. In the subsequent one-third, students will delve into linear models, linear mixed models, local regression, and nonlinear models. Finally, in the last segment, students will explore image analysis, machine learning, and deep learning methods. While the course will cover a broad spectrum of methods, ranging from introductory to advanced levels, the emphasis will be on developing the capability to independently conduct analyses rather than on elaborating on the theoretical underpinnings of the methods.

This course explores key concepts and conceptions in political philosophy that are relevant to contemporary societies. Our societies are often not well-ordered, allowing even the unreasonable to hold political power, even in so-called "liberal democratic" societies. Given this reality, it is crucial to examine the existence of political obligation - whether there is a duty to obey laws and institutions - as well as the legitimacy of public and social policies and the role of justice and freedom. This course addresses these fundamental questions through a careful study of political philosophy.

This course focuses upon Australia’s historical relationships between settlers and Indigenous people in comparative perspective. In the first part of the course, students will consider how key terms like ‘settler colonialism’, ‘race’, ‘the civilising process’, and ‘treaty’ can be conceptualised in historical context. We will trace how colonial ideas about settlement, land tenure and law sat within a pre-existing European tradition of thought, and how these ideas might be rethought through an Indigenous worldview. We will investigate different practices of cross-cultural brokerage and co-existence on frontiers of British colonial settlement, and consider some of the triggers that gave rise to colonial violence. Through the latter part of the course, we will turn to twentieth-century policies of assimilation and consider how they were shared or divergent in different geographical settings of the British Commonwealth. Finally, students will engage with some of the ongoing legacies of the colonial past in the present, and investigate how debates about truth telling have evolved in Australia, as well as in connected settler nations of the former British Empire.