We live in the information age, where every corner of the world is increasingly connected via various new types of media. Each of us, whether wealthy or poor, has access to a staggering amount of media content, which is disseminated at lower costs and greater speeds than ever before. New cultures and information travel around the world in a shorter period, and new and old cultures interact with each other, crossing borders and resulting in the formation of new cultures, new senses of values, and new ways of life. Meanwhile, traditional cultural, institutional, and political systems coexist with the newer ones. In this globalized information society, we experience political and cultural conflicts over social norms or the understanding of history.

In the course of study at our Department, you will explore the abovementioned issues characteristic of the present-day world, while focusing on historical context as well. We employ new methodologies such as media studies and informatics in addition to more conventional methods used in the humanities or social sciences.

A major characteristic of our Department is that we cover new media, such as audiovisual materials, comics, animation, blogs, and SNSs, alongside written materials, which the humanities and social sciences have traditionally examined. Our Department will offer courses on manga and animation studies, image studies, and humanistic informatics, in addition to those on history, literature, sociology and philosophy.

At our Media and Culture Studies Department, you can develop the skills necessary to analyze a wide range of contemporary society’s problems and phenomena by means of the newest methodologies, and obtain the highly specialized knowledge required by present-day society. The skills and knowledge we offer will prepare you for a career in a range of fields, including media, the IT sector, the educational sector, and public services and administration.

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Since our research subject is science, it is necessary for students to have concrete knowledge in scientific disciplines. However, even though we use the singular science, in fact there is great diversity within the sciences, from physics to biology to social sciences, and sometimes mathematics. Thus, students will acquire knowledge in the field of their greatest interest, getting advice from teachers and senior students.

Another characteristic of the educational program in the department is that it assigns logic as a mandatory class. Since we cannot acquire logical skills simply by listening to lectures, the class focuses on exercises so that students can master logical reasoning. Such a practical skill in logic will be useful not only in research but also in our lives outside academia.

There are various closely related fields to the philosophy and history of science. One of these is the burgeoning discipline of Science, Technology and Society (STS), which examines various aspects of the relationship between science and technology on the one hand and the society on the other, such as science communication and public decision making on science and technology. Undergraduate students in this department are allowed to choose their research topics from STS.

More information in English: “Philosophy and History of Science Web Site” (below)

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• Philosophy and History of Science Web Site

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• http://www.bun.kyoto-u.ac.jp/twentieth_century_studies/tcs-top_page/ (in Japanese)

The period characterized by these phenomena, conventionally called globalization, cannot be fully comprehended within the traditional analytical framework of national histories. Predicated on this recognition, the department has focused on research and education about twentieth-century history from global perspectives. Students are urged to take into account, for example, global trends in thought and social movements or parallel developments in different countries and regions. Comparative and/or structural perspectives, as well as a transnational frame of analysis, will prove extremely fruitful even when students investigate historical topics associated with a specific country. In these ways the department seeks to lead students to reflect on twentieth-century history as world history.

The department offers courses on various topics, thanks to the invaluable help provided by members of the Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies and the Institute for Research in Humanities. These usually include lectures and seminars on Japan, Korea, China, Europe, Americas, and Africa. In addition, the department encourages students to take classes offered by other departments and faculties in order to acquire further insights into the humanities and social sciences, which are necessary in dealing with topics or events that have taken place during such a multifaceted period.

Students are allowed to choose freely the topics of graduate and master theses, as long as they can be examined with the methodology of historical analysis, i.e. one based on primary sources that provide first-hand information. Taking a simple example, one cannot duly analyze the policymaking process of the George W. Bush administration leading up to the Iraqi War of 2003 before governmental documents are declassified. On the other hand, one can consider historically the popular reaction to the same war as in this case the relevant materials, including published sources, images and even broadcasts can be retrieved. This difference accrues from the availability of primary sources required to construct a historically sound argument.

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• http://www.bun.kyoto-u.ac.jp/contemporary_history/ch-top_page/ (in Japanese)