The Department of Cultural Interaction Studies seeks to further broaden the scope of Sophia University’s founding goal of “contributing to the exchange of Eastern and Western cultures,” by looking into the history of cultural interaction and seeking the phases of how new cultures form.
With the advance of globalization, there is an increasing need to look at contact and negotiation among multiple cultures from a broader perspective. At the same time, there is a need to deepen research from a broader perspective in the worlds of literary studies and journalism. Furthermore, there is a need to reconsider the significance of translation as an essential means of cross-cultural negotiation.
We aim to examine the various cultural negotiations surrounding literature beyond the conventional framework and to capture the dynamic nature of cultural negotiations and contact between different cultures. To achieve this goal, we will examine the reality of cross-cultural negotiations from all angles and focus on exploring the elements necessary for a new culture to emerge.
In addition, the Program in Cultural Interaction will link the areas of each department already in the Graduate School of Humanities under the academic pillar of “Cultural Interaction”. We will proactively collaborate with other programs in the Graduate School of Humanities to promote a more pluralistic understanding of culture.
The theme of how to perceive different cultures as the basis for cultural interaction studies research will be examined, including the characteristics of various cultures and the historical background of culture formation.
This is the core course group of the Program in Cultural Interaction, which examines the frictions that occur when various cultures meet and the ways in which they are perceived, focusing on how they can lead to the creation of new cultures.
Translation is one of the means of various exchanges, understanding, and cultural negotiations, as well as an opportunity to create new cultures. We will examine its impact, importance, and diversity.
The program examines cultural negotiations and encounters between pieces of literature, with an awareness of the results of literary studies from a broader perspective, called “cultural studies.”
The first objective is to train researchers who understand the essence of cultural negotiation. Second, we will also look to train personnel to engage in basic research that will serve as a foundation for creating new cultures through cross-cultural negotiations.
To achieve these two major goals, we offer courses that help students understand the methods of cross-cultural research and the characteristics of cultural negotiation, as well as courses that transcend the conventional framework to examine various forms of cultural negotiation and dynamically grasp cultural negotiation and cross-cultural contact. We also offer courses that aim to examine translation as an essential means of cultural negotiation from various perspectives.
Full-time faculty members are selected from each program and from the Graduate Schools of Humanities. In addition, adjunct faculty members specializing in the humanities within the university, as well as those specializing in theology and aesthetics, are invited to serve as adjunct instructors. We will also invite part-time lecturers from outside the university, such as specialists in comparative literature and culture in translation, professors specializing in the history of the relationship between literature and art, and curators specializing in the fine arts. Furthermore, we aim to cultivate individuals who understand the characteristics of art and culture, including literature, and who are proficient in handling “archives” in a variety of media.
The Master’s Program in Cultural Interaction sets standards for the skills and knowledge students should acquire before graduation as described below: Those who fulfill the graduation requirements and pass their thesis defense shall be deemed to have acquired these qualities and will be awarded a diploma
The Doctoral Program in Cultural Interaction sets standards for the skills and knowledge students should acquire before graduation as described below: Those who fulfill the graduation requirements and pass their dissertation defense shall be deemed to have acquired these qualities and will be awarded a diploma.
In accordance with the diploma policy, in light of its aim to have students address interaction among various cultures from a broad perspective, the Master’s Program in Cultural Interaction constructs its curriculum with courses aligned to the following purposes
In accordance with the diploma policy, in light of its aim to teach students how to examine materials and pursue their research themes as well as the essence of writing a dissertation so that students can compile a dissertation that builds on the features of this doctoral program, the Doctoral Program in Cultural Interaction constructs its curriculum with courses aligned to the following purposes:
The Master’s Program in Cultural Interaction seeks students with the following qualities.
The Doctoral Program in Cultural Interaction seeks students with the following qualities:
Dominic CHEETHAM Professor
Naoshige NAGAO Professor
Kosuke FUKUDA Professor
Katsutaka HOJO Professor
Reiko MIWA Professor
HOME
Academics
Graduate Programs
Graduate School of Humanities
Master’s (Doctoral) Program in Cultural Interaction
