Humanities and Communications(HC)
Thinking about language, culture, history, and politics based on individuals
WARAGAI, Ikumi
Professor, Program Chairperson
The HC Program, through interdisciplinary approaches, seeks to address the many challenges that arise from one fundamental question: How can humanity best coexist in today's increasingly diverse and connected world? To find the answer, we must recognize the unique aspects of individuals and groups; but more importantly, we must also consider the fluid relationships that emerge between them, namely, the dynamics of communication. It is also essential to adopt a multilayered mode of observation, connecting the macro, meso, and micro levels--such as the individual, community, global, and local--while taking language into account at each level. With this understanding, we examine how people acquire and use language, while taking a keen look at the influence of language on power dynamics and colonialism.
The HC Program examines the distinct challenges of each region, including Japan, and develops both objective and subjective solutions to the issues faced by the people living there. It also provides an ideal environment for research and learning for those who seek to drive social change through education, including multilingual and plurilingual education. While objective, data-driven analysis is undoubtedly valuable in understanding a research subject, it is equally important to engage with individuals' lived experiences, which involves stepping into their worlds.
At its core, our Program addresses questions surrounding humans. Our consistent focus stems from an awareness of the unique, multilayered nature of human beings, including the dual perspectives of individuals and groups, and the human as both an object of analysis and a subjective being. We also remain attentive to the fact that the conc ept of the"human person" is relatively embedded in the society, language, and culture. Building on this perspective, we explore key issues in language, culture, society, history, education, and politics. Amid accelerating globalization, transboundary mobility, and intercultural exchange, the HC Program provides a most ideal environment to research future pathways to human coexistence.
Affiliated Academic Projects
- Language Learning & Teaching Design
- Interdisciplinary Japanese Studies
- Humanities Approach to Modern Society and Culture
- Multilingual and Multicultural Society
Faculty Members
Possibilities after Graduation
Careers include international organizations, development consulting, local regional government, private think tanks, general corporations, journalism, printed/audiovisual media and education. This Program also trains researchers for fields such as regional research theory, human security theory, foreign language education, lingual culture, communications, etc.