The 20th century no longer belongs to the present. Indeed, it is moving further and further away from us as it recedes into the past. Nevertheless, looking back on the history of the 20th century not only proves effective in studying today’s culture, but can also provide a radical approach essential for understanding many different issues of present-day society. Mass society, information society, gender, the environment, globalization, the nation state, and post-colonial society — these and countless other issues of today’s culture and society either first appeared or intensified during the 20th century. The department is a place where students who have a keen interest in contemporary culture and society can reflect upon the diverse cultural and social phenomena of the last century. They will also have a chance to experience a way of learning that is oriented toward a trans-disciplinary approach, which incorporates the methodologies of pre-existing disciplines such as history, sociology and contemporary thought. Aside from documents and material sources (such as works of fine art) which conventional scholarship has dealt with, we struggle with new types of source materials that can be said to symbolize the 20th century, such as films, television programs, comics (manga), animation and the internet contents.

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