History

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Introduction to the Major

Faculty members talk about what you can learn and what makes this major special.

Mission Statement

Students who major in History will learn to comprehend the origins of complex problems that we see today from a historical perspective, and to cultivate critical judgment and knowledge in order to act as world citizens, through wide-ranging approaches and exploration of multiple possibilities. Courses offered cover a wide range of topics including the environment, politics, economy, society, culture, technology, philosophy, religion, and everyday life. The main emphasis is on comprehending current issues through the historical past and understanding the events of the world within the flow of time.

Learning Goals

Learning Goals for students majoring in History are as follows.

  1. Originality: Students must be able to compose their own unique questions when considering societies and events of the past.
  2. Historical Thinking: Students must acquire an understanding of the philosophy of history in order to understand and evaluate the development of arguments and theories of historical research and to make relevant links to their own questions.
  3. Research Skills: Students must be able to collect, comprehend, analyze, and evaluate primary and secondary documents necessary to their research. They must also be able to identify exclusions, biases, and interpretations that occur in historical materials
  4. Communication: Students must be able to present their work in order to share their academic interests and research achievements with others.
  5. Social Responsibility: Students must be responsible about what they say as individuals who possess specialized knowledge.

History is a discipline that analyzes and comprehends past social events from a critical, empathetic, and multidirectional perspective. Historical study is unachievable without a clear awareness of current issues, but at the same time it is not possible to understand current issues without deep insight into and knowledge of the past. Thus, in order to major in History, students need to acquire document analysis skills, the ability to integrate complex events, and the capacity to think logically so to depict historical events.

After taking Foundation courses in history, students will choose their individual research themes from Japanese history, Asian history, Western history, and other fields. They will then take advanced courses, and finally will write their own senior thesis.

Major Faculty

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