Cool Head but Warm Heart – To See an Invisible Society (Global Focus on Knowledge)
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#1 To See an Invisible Society
This lecture explains the purpose of the course and what is expected of students. As a practical example of “looking at an invisible society”, the lecture also explains “Hope Studies,” which the Institute of Social Science, the University of Tokyo, has been engaged in since 2005.
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#2 The Time-Space of Cherry Blossoms – The Ring of Flowers in East Asia
A symbol of Japanese culture, the cherry blossom has been drawn into controversies about its origins, which are particular to East Asia. In the space of official history, which is like an intense magnetic field, how could we discover some inherent qualities while preserving pluralism and multiplicity? This lecture takes students on an adventure in logic and emotions.
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#3 Inclusion and Exclusion of Disabled Persons – The Dark Side of the History of School Education
Using as a guide the documentary film “Yogo Gakko ha Akannen! (No Special-Needs Schools!),” about the opposition to the 1979 law mandating special-needs schools, this lecture examines the roles that school education has played from the perspective of inclusion and exclusion of disabled persons.
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#4 Exploring the Causes of Fraudulent Accounting – The Mutifaceted Nature of “Society’s Standard Operating Procedures”
From time to time there are major scandals involving companies that are reported in the media, including “fraudulent accounting,” “accounting irregularities,” and “profit manipulation.” While it is obvious that these practices should be avoided, they have occurred repeatedly. This lecture explores the essences of this problem, which cannot be comprehended by a “dualism between good and evil.”
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#5 Advancing Social Imagination – What We Cannot See and What We Do Not Try to See
When asked “what is society?” what kinds of images come to mind? Although many terms and phrases share their root with the word “society,” such as social problem and social phenomenon, it is difficult to visualize actual society itself. What kinds of tools are there for doing so? We will discuss social imagination in this class.
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Available
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#6 Circulation of Nutrition and the Society
Humans depend on food. Food is created from crops, and crops grow by drawing nutrition from the ground. As humans consume food, food is discharged into the environment in different forms. This lecture will consider the effects of these human activities on the society, and discuss the future vision.
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#7 Economic Society and Risk-taking
Players in economic activities always face risks and are forced to make decisions on how they should take risks vis-à-vis a future that cannot be seen. This lecture introduces the ways economists analyze risk-taking behaviors in areas such as financial markets and companies, and considers the ways of confronting risks in the global economy.
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Available
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#8 Japan’s Economy and the Labor Market
The environment surrounding Japan’s economy is changing drastically today. These changes include Japan’s falling birth rate and aging population, progress of informatization, and the rise of newly developing countries. Amid such environmental changes, what kinds of problems does Japan’s economy face, and what socioeconomic systems will be demanded going forward? This lecture considers the present…
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Available
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#9 Peace in the International Community – Thinking about Its Conditions
What is the international community? What is peace? And, what are the conditions of peace in the international community? These questions will be discussed from the standpoint of international relations.
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#10 At an Opening between Zero Profit and Irrationality – The Hopes of Toba Ravine
Why have the village of Otoba and its surrounding villages in Wakasa Town, Fukui Prefecture, shared administrative burden, even though there are no apparent benefits? Going forward, what should be done so that this sharing would not reach an irrational level?
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#11 Two Kinds of Imagination – Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power Plants
To move on from nuclear power plants, it is said that an imagination that transcends immediate economic benefit and demand for electricity is required. To host nuclear power plants to a place where there had been no power plants, another kind of powerful imagination was necessary. This lecture considers the features of these two kinds of imagination.
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Available
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#12 History of Political Thought and Modern Society
Are the classics of the history of political thought something that involve stories in a far-away country and in the distant past that nobody understands well today? This lecture explores the ways to read such classics, so that they can provide nourishment for us who live in the modern society.
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Available
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#13 Course Summary – Being in between “Visible” and “Invisible”
This lecture reviews the course through the previous 12 lectures. Through discussions with students, the lecture will consider the ways in which we can become aware of social problems that are difficult to see, and seek clues to solutions of such problems.
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