Learning Characteristics and Curriculum (Department of History)
CURRICULUM Learning Features and Curriculum

Experience the dynamism of history and develop the insight to shape the future.
History, which deals with the romantic nature of history, is in fact a scientific and empirical discipline that interprets historical documents and reconstructs the past.
Learning about the past deepens understanding of the origins of modern society, broadens one's perspective on different cultures, and cultivates insight into the future.

Learn history broadly and deeply through four courses.
Our university's Department of History currently offers four courses: Japanese History, Western History, Oriental History, and Archaeology.
In the first year, students will study an introduction to history, an overview of history, and an in-depth overview of all courses.
In the second year, students select a course and acquire the basics of research methods, as well as the foreign languages and paleography necessary for specialized research.
In the third year, students choose to take seminars (exercises) and deepen their research while receiving careful guidance from the seminar instructor. In addition, students will further deepen their learning through fieldwork by participating in a compulsory study trip conducted by each seminar.
In the fourth year, all students are required to write a graduation thesis as a culmination of their studies in Department of History.
Diverse faculty
What sets our Department of History apart from Department of History at other private universities is the diverse lineup of our professors.
In the Japanese History course, five experts covering all periods - ancient, medieval, early modern, modern, and contemporary - will provide thorough support for your studies.
The Western History course has specialists in ancient history, the Middle Ages, and three modern and contemporary theories, allowing students to write their graduate thesis on any period or region.
In addition to two specialists in Chinese history (pre-modern and modern), the Oriental History course has a specialist in Indian and Islamic history, allowing for broad and diverse learning.
In the Archaeology course, you can experience the cutting edge of academic research through excavation training and other activities under the guidance of experts who cover Japan and overseas using a variety of methods, including natural sciences.
All courses offer graduate programs for students who wish to further their research after graduation.

COURSE MODELS
Japanese History Course
Research into Japanese history begins with reading historical documents and other written sources. Recently, other sources such as pictorial sources and the results of excavations have been widely used, but the basis is written text.
Therefore, if you choose the Japanese history course, you will begin taking classes on historical documents and paleography in your second year.
The historical reading course is offered to second and third year students, and classes focus on deciphering classical Chinese historical documents and cursive script.
On the other hand, in paleography, ancient documents are classified according to their style or function and are studied systematically.
It may feel like a foreign language to the students, but once they overcome that barrier and are able to hear the voices from history directly, it is sure to be a special experience.
Oriental History Course
The Asian region (East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and Central Asia) that the Oriental History course covers is a place where humanity has built civilizations since ancient times and where many ethnic groups, religions, and cultures have intermingled and interacted.
In the Oriental History course, we have taken care to provide students with a multi-track curriculum that is in line with the recent state of Japanese history.
For example, China and India have long histories and their civilizations have had a major impact on the surrounding regions. At the same time, in the 21st century, China and India are attracting attention as bases for global economic growth.
So, will the 21st century be the century of China and India? The answer to such a question should always be sought in history.
In recent years, the idea of global history, which spans many regions, has also been drawing attention. This is a way of thinking that looks at history from a broader perspective, centering on the environmental problems humanity faces and the historical changes that have occurred.
This approach is also a way of studying history that transcends the traditional frameworks of Japanese history, Eastern history, and Western history. In the Eastern History course, we are strongly conscious of studying history from these perspectives.
Western History Course
When you hear the word "Western," what region comes to mind? Many people might answer that the West means Europe.
So, are the United States and other countries in the Americas not Western? Or what about Australia and New Zealand? Can Dejima in the Edo period not be called Western?
The difficulty in defining the geographical term "West" actually lies behind long-term historical change.
The Western History course offers a variety of lectures and seminars taught by full-time faculty members specializing in a wide range of topics, from the ancient Greek and Roman worlds to medieval society, and from Spain and Portugal during the Age of Discovery to the rise and fall of the British Empire and modern Germany, as well as by part-time instructors specializing in a variety of eras and regions.
Let us reconsider together the history of the "West", which has undergone a complex process.

Archaeology Course
I think that for many students, archaeology is the first subject they will encounter. Archaeology is the study of restoring history from things people have left underground (archaeological materials).
In the Archaeology course, students will learn research methods through seminars and basic exercises, as well as gain practical experience through training in methods for extracting information from objects and excavation techniques.
During the summer of your second and third years, you will act as archaeologists and conduct excavation surveys of ruins.
Above all, we want students in the archaeology course to have curiosity and the independent initiative to verify that curiosity.
The experience I gain here will definitely be useful in the future.

*The course model introduced here is just an example.
COURSE FEATURES Features of major courses
Japanese History Course
Subject Name | Features |
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An Overview of Japanese History
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This is a course taken in the first year that serves as an introductory course to Japanese history, providing an overview of Japanese history as a whole, from ancient times through the Middle Ages, early modern times, and modern and contemporary times.
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Readings on Japanese History Materials IA, IB, IIA, IIB
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This is a subject taken in the second and third years. Students acquire the skills to read and interpret various historical documents written in classical Chinese and cursive script.
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Palaeography I, II
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This is a subject taken in the second year. Students learn how to categorize and systematize "old documents" from ancient to modern times according to their style and function, and how to use them as historical materials.
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Japanese History Seminar
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This is a course taken in the third and fourth years. Students will belong to one seminar from ancient history, medieval history, early modern history, modern history, or contemporary history of Japan, and will learn more specialized content through discussions with other seminar students. They will also conduct field surveys and seminar camps to deepen their understanding of each era.
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Special Training
Special Seminar (Graduation Thesis) |
This is a course taken in the fourth year. Students choose a topic based on their own interests, advance their research through dialogue with their supervisor and mid-term reports in seminars, and write their graduation thesis.
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Oriental History Course
Subject Name | Features |
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An Outline of Oriental History
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This is a course taken in the first year that provides an introductory look at Oriental history, which covers China, India, Southeast Asia, Islam, and other countries.
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Historical Materials and Literature Readings I, II, III, IV
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This is a course taken in the second and third years in which students learn how to read historical materials to study various aspects of history, such as China, India, Southeast Asia, Islam, etc. Students will read historical materials in English, classical Chinese, and Chinese according to the region of interest.
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Basic Exercises A and B
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This is a course taken in the second year that teaches basic methods for studying various histories such as China, India, Southeast Asia, and Islam. Students will learn how to search for literature in libraries, the basics of reading comprehension, and how to collect materials using the Internet.
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Oriental History Seminar
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This is a course taken in the third and fourth years in which students choose an area or theme that interests them from the various fields of history, such as China, India, Southeast Asia, and Islam. They then develop the techniques they learned in basic seminars and learn more advanced reading comprehension of literature, material reading, research presentation methods, and how to summarize research results.
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Special Training
Special Seminar (Graduation Thesis) |
This is a course taken in the fourth year in which students identify their own issues within the history of China, India, Southeast Asia, Islam, etc., choose a theme, and write their graduation thesis.
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Western History Course
Subject Name | Features |
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Western History Overview
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This first-year course is an introductory course to Western history, covering Europe, America, and overseas empires.
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Historical Materials and Literature Readings I, II, III, IV
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This is a course taken in the second and third years in which students learn how to read historical documents to study various aspects of Western history. Students will read historical documents in English, Spanish, German, French, and other languages in accordance with the region of interest.
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Basic Exercises A and B
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This is a course taken in the second year, and students will learn how to search for literature using libraries and the Internet, how to read and understand, and how to write reports, all of which are necessary for studying the history of various regions in Europe and America.
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Western History Seminar
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This is a course taken in the third and fourth years in which students learn more specialized knowledge and methods about various aspects of European and American history through small, student-led classes.
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Special Training
Special Seminar (Graduation Thesis) |
This is a course taken in the fourth year in which students will learn how to identify issues in various areas of European and American history, decide on a topic, and write their graduation thesis.
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Archaeology Course
Subject Name | Features |
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Archaeology Overview
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This is a course taken in the first year and is an introductory course to archaeology, which tells history from materials (ruins, remains, and artefacts) left underground by people of the past.
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Historical Materials and Literature Readings I, II, III, IV
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In the historical materials and literature reading classes, students will mainly read English literature on overseas archaeology and learn about the materials and methods used to reconstruct the history of countries and regions other than Japan.
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Archaeology Practice IA, IB, IIA, IIB
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This is a course taken in the second and third years, in which students learn methods for topographical surveying prior to archaeological excavation, as well as the concepts and methods for documenting excavated artifacts and measuring (plotting) them.
During the summer vacation, students will also visit archaeological sites and conduct excavation exercises as part of their classes. |
Archaeology Seminar
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This is a course taken in the third and fourth years in which students read papers and collect and analyze archaeological materials on a research topic or material of their own choosing, and are trained to independently consider their results through presentations and discussions within seminars.
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Special Seminar Special Seminar (Graduation Thesis)
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This is a subject taken in the fourth year. Based on all the knowledge learned over the past four years, students will set a problem and write a graduation thesis on a theme that is in line with their interests and concerns.
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