October 1st, 2021
We updated our website
Technology has affected human life significantly and extensively in various ways since the last century. Our hope is that technology will bring happiness and many benefits to humankind. Engineering Technology consists of highly advanced intellectual activities, and yet it is connected to more down-to-earth aspects of human endeavors such as clothing, food and housing. In order to master the various branches of engineering, students must possess knowledge and understanding of such human endeavors.
The mission of liberal arts education is to develop good judgment and an overall capability based on a balance of intelligence, emotion, and volition. Such a balance is required in becoming an advanced expert in any specific field. There are two main courses of study in the Department of Liberal Arts.
The first course of study focuses on Language Education. The English language is given primary importance, yet other major language programs are offered in order to give a better understanding of different cultures and to develop practical communication skills that are not merely desirable, but necessary when collaborating internationally or conducting technology transfers overseas.
The second course of study is called Human Sciences. This includes subjects in Humanities that explore human mental activities and cultural phenomena, subjects in Social Sciences that analyze the political, economic, and other social issues, and General subjects that provide cross-disciplinary viewpoints on the relationships between environment, science, technology, and humankind. There are also Physical Education programs for the understanding and development of the health of the mind and body. For those who wish, a basic teaching program is offered as well.
Although the Department of Liberal Arts is aimed at preparatory education, all students, not only first year and second year students, are eligible to take the courses if necessary, in association with the major courses of study in engineering.
Aiming to further enhance its liberal arts program, in 2018, TUS reorganized its general curriculum into 5 main categories. Additionally, a system of subcategories has also been set up.
ScienceIntroduction to Life Science, Introduction to Bioscience, Astronomy, Natural Geography, Mathematical Sciences, Modern Sciences, Modern Astronomy, Astrophysics, Natural Disaster Science, Material Science
Contemporary Society and Ethics, Philosophy,Logic, Ethics, Religious Studies, Frontiers in Philosophy, History of Ideas, Arts, Music, History of Art, Culture and Representation,Literature, Japanese Literature, World Literature, History, Historyof the Western World, History of Asia, History of Japan, History and the Modern World, Cultural Studies, Cultural Anthropology, Comparative Culture, Contemporary Cultural Studies, Language and Culture, Fieldwork Preparation and Practice, Geography,Human Geography, Historical Geography of Edo-Tokyo Region
Introduction to Social Sciences, Constitution of Japan, Society and Law,Contemporary Issues in Low, Political Science, Contemporary Politics,International Relations, Economics, Economic Affairs, Economic Theory, Psychology, Psychologyand Society, Mental Health, Communication Studies, Sociology,Contemporary Sociology, Gender Studies
Introduction to Intellectual Property, Japanese Expression, Writing and Presentation, Media and the Modern World, Information and Society, Japanese Affairs 1, Japanese Affairs 2
Technology and Social Sciences
Science, Technology and Society, History of Science, Science Studies, History of Medicine, Science, Technology and Ethics, Contemporary Technology, Contemporary Medicine
Information Sciences/Environmental Sciences
Introduction to Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Environmentand Society
Health and Sports Sciences
Sports and Fitness A, Sports and Fitness B, Sports and Fitness C, Sports and Fitness D, Season Sports Practice1~2,Intensive Gymnastics (Sunday Exercise), Analysis and Discussion of Human Kinetics and Physiological Functions, Introduction to Health and Sports Science
General Studies
Liberal Arts Forum for Freshers(Society and humanity), Liberal Arts Forum for Freshers(Culture and Thought), Introduction to Liberal Arts, Liberal Arts Seminar,Interdisciplinary Seminar
English Language Studies
【Faculty of Engineering/English Language Studies】
Listening & Speaking I a/b、Reading I a/b、Writing & Composition I a/b、Listening & Speaking II a/b、Reading IIa/b、Writing & Composition II a/b
【Faculty of Advanced Engineering/English Language Studies】
Listening & Speaking 1 A/B、Reading & Writing 1 A/B、Listening & Speaking 2 A/B、Reading & Writing 2 A/B、Listening & Speaking 3、Reading & Writing 3、English Communication 1/2, Science English 1/2
Second Foreign Language Studies
German(ElementaryA/B), German(Intermediate A/B),French (Elementary A/B), French (Intermediate A/B), Chinese (ElementaryA/B), Chinese (Intermediate A/B),Korean(ElementaryA/B), Korean (Intermediate A/B),Japanese Speaking (Fundamental), Japanese Speaking (Elementary), Japanese Speaking (Intermediate A/B), Japanese Grammar (Fundamental), Japanese Grammar (Elementary), Japanese Grammar (Intermediate A/B)
Required English Courses aim to improve English reading, writing, comprehension, and speaking skills. These skills will help students study within their major field, and will help develop our students’ ability to gather and exchange information in English. These courses are for first year and second year students.
Courses
【Faculty of Engineering】
Listening & Speaking I a/b、Reading I a/b、Writing & Composition I a/b、Listening & Speaking II a/b、Reading II a/b、Writing & Composition II a/b
【Faculty of Advanced Engineering】
Listening & Speaking 1 A/B、Reading & Writing 1 A/B、Listening & Speaking 2 A/B、Reading & Writing 2 A/B(Semi-compulsory Courses: Listening & Speaking 3、Reading & Writing 3、English Communication 1/2, Science English 1/2 *Note that the English curriculum is different for students enrolled before AY 2019. Refer to the Course Guidelines.)
In addition to the Required English Courses,English Seminar/English Workshopare offered to provide additional opportunities to learn English intensively. Our goal is to help students gain employment and/or proceed on to advanced education in the future. According to each instructor, the aims of the seminars vary. Students must read each syllabus carefully and select what is best suited to their interests and/or ambitions.
※Note: Please note that credits earned from English Seminar/English Workshop are counted as credits under Human Sciences.
Courses
English Seminar a/b, English Workshop a/b
The Overseas English Learning Program offersOverseas English Seminarsin Oregon, California, and Manchester, as well asCross-Cultural Communicationin India. The former courses focus on English learning at either, the University of California, Santa Cruz (California, USA), or Manchester University (Manchester, UK), while the latter course provides both English and IT education at the Soft Bridge Research Center (Pune, India). Both courses are carried out over a period of one month during the summer vacation. Participants can enjoy rich cross-cultural experiences by joining in several extracurricular activities such as: staying at a host family’s home, field trips, events to get acquainted with local students, and visiting companies. These will provide valuable experiences that can’t be found through regular college life. (Please note that for the Faculty of Engineering, only students in their second year orabove can participate in this program. All interested students should try their best to improve their English while taking the Required English in their first year.)
※Note: Please also note that credits earned from the Overseas English Learning Program are counted differently in each Faculty: the Faculty of Engineering count them as credits under Human Sciences, while the Faculty of Advanced Engineering as ones for semi-compulsory English courses.
In quantum mechanics theory, Schrödinger equation is a partial differential equation which describes the time evolution of quantum states of very light particles. It is well known that this equation has a lot of mathematical interest. Associate Professor Atsuhide Ishida studies the solutions of Schrödinger equation of the quantum system which is governed by Hamiltonian with some perturbations. By analysing the asymptotic motion of solutions, he is trying to understand the quantum scattering phenomena from mathematical aspect.
Link : Individual Page
Link : ISHIDA Laboratory
Link : Researchmap
Professor Honda specializes physical chemistry (colloids and surface chemistry), physical pharmacy (DDS, microcapsule and drug carrier) and powder technology (design and modification powder). He has been working on particulate design(powder surface modification, encapsulation, microgranulation, etc) by a dry impact blending method since 1987. The dry impact blending method is composed of two step blending processes. The first step is the blending process for preparation of an interactive mixture. The second step is the mechanical impact blending process for preparation of composites and capsules. The composites and capsules are capable of improving and controlling the powder properties, such as catalytic activity, wettability, electrical properties, electronic properties, optical properties, rheological properties and so on. The concept of microfabrication on powder surfaces can be applied in many industrial fields; e.g. in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, foods, copy toners, paints, pigments, ceramics, cements, inks, detergents, dental materials, metallurgy. etc.
Link : HONDA Laboratory
Associate Professor Okoshi investigates galaxy formation and evolution through quasar absorption systems based on theoretical/observational approaches. The quasar absorption systems provide a unique probe of an early evolutionary stage of the universe and galaxy formation. The aim is to reveal the origin of galaxies, the circumgalactic media, and the intergalactic medium through the quasar absorption systems.
Link : OKOSHI Laboratory
Professor Uzu theoretically investigates the structures and reactions on few-nucleon systems, such as 4He bound state and d + d -> 3He + n reaction. Field is quite different, but he also take theoretical part of researching the utilization technology of the ultrasonic. Let's say with pointy ears: Physics is fascinating, and to talk about Physics is fascinating.
Link : UZU Laboratory
Banach space theory is the most basic but surprisingly deep research area in functional analysis. It is almost complete as tools for other fields of science, but still contains many interesting problems. In particular, recently, geometric nonlinear functional analysis is being developed eagerly. Junior Associate Professor Tanaka's effort is now directed towards refining the theory of nonlinear classification of Banach spaces.
Link : TANAKA Laboratory
Yoshitsugu Akiyama, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Arts and Sciences. He has recently also joined the Graduate School of Advanced Engineering at TUS. His academic focus is on developing organic functional materials based on rational structural design for potential application in bioanalysis. His scientific approach to material design has been broadened thanks to the development of DNA materials which are attractive “functional materials” owing to their highly sophisticated molecular recognition ability and low environmental load.
Link : AKIYAMA Laboratory
Junior Associate Professor Itaba’s field of study is Mathematics, in particular, Algebras. She is interested in representation theory of finite dimensional algebras and noncommutative algebraic geometry, both of which are in noncommutative ring theory. Representation theory of finite dimensional algebras is the study of module structure over finite dimensional algebras, which is a generalization of finite dimensional vector spaces. One of main tools of the study is a directed graph which is called a quiver.Noncommutative algebraic geometry is the study of noncommutative rings by using the method of algebraic geometry. These two fields have different origins, however they are closely related, and are studied actively. Main themes of her research are to further explore the relationship between these two fields and to go further looking for the association of these two fields.
Link : ITABA Laboratory
Link : Researchmap
In his scattered academic life, Associate Professor Kita has been randomly and self-indulgently exploring several different topics including humour, creative writing, discourse analysis and English language teaching; it is not until recently that he found all these research interests of his could fall under the decent rubric of 'Applied Linguistics' in the broad sense. He has now been wandering happily around several different academic fields, professing himself a born applied linguist.
Link : KITA Laboratory
Professor Matsumoto specializes in English novels from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. Her studies relate the cultural and social phenomena of those times with the then attempted experiments in novel themes and the arts. She currently pursues the correlation between the framing factors that appeared in J. Conrad’s and R. Kipling’s novels and the social framework formed by the class system.
Link : MATSUMOTO Laboratory
Junko Kanazawa’s major is American Literature, and she specializes in American poetry during the Civil War. She is particularly interested in the relationship and influence of historical and social backgrounds on the vocabulary of writers and poets who lived in the time of progress and discoveries in the natural sciences. Her goal is to bridge the gap between the poetry of the 19th century and the reality of the 21st century and make the American women poets' voices to be heard. She also aims to relate the problems encountered in the past to the difficulties we experience in our modern world, especially in the recent global crises.
Link : KANAZAWA Laboratory
Associate Professor Sayako Maswana has been conducting research on various topics related to English education. She is particularly interested in academic writing and has analyzed the differences and commonalities among writing styles in various academic genres and disciplines. Through genre analysis, and through revealing the detailed language use and cultural contexts of particular genres, she aims to develop tasks that facilitate learners' participation in the target discourse community.
Link : MASWANA Laboratory
Through the study of language diversity, and relativity, I seek to eliminate language-induced disparities in the world. I am also interested in the merits and demerits of globalization. As an English educator / because I am an English educator, I would like to rethink the English education system in Japan, which is biased in favor of English, and to communicate this to the students who will lead Japan in the future.
I have been deepening my research on issues that I have felt in the field of education. As a result, the development of English teaching methods for the visually impaired is also an important research subject. There are few English educators in higher education who could teach English to students with disabilities, and I believe this is an important research theme in Japan, where inclusive education will be promoted in the future.
I am researching language rights from a sociolinguistic perspective and language rights for people with sensory disabilities from the same axis, aiming to ensure equal educational opportunities for learners with disabilities.
Junior Associate Professor Yutaka Yoshida teaches ELS (English as a Second Language) at TUS. He is majoring in Caribbean Literature and Anglophone Literature in general. In seminar modules, students closely read fictions written in English and Japanese. Inlecture module, he teaches the world history and politics, ranging from Western modernity since slavery system to colonialism in East Asia. His monograph was published as Literary History of the Destitute: Empire and the Crowds in Modernity(Getsuyo-sha, 2021). He also published the Japanese translation of Stuart Hall’s posthumous memoir, Familiar Stranger: A Life between Two Islands (co-authored with Bill Schwarz; Allen Lane, 2017). His recent project deals with reading Caribbean Literature in comparison to East Asian history and literature before and after the Cold War.
Link : YOSHIDA Laboratory
Link : Researchmap
Link : ACADEMIA
The experience of growing up in South Africa (a country with twelve official languages!) as well as my background in linguistics have left me with a strong interest in any and all aspects of language. As a result, my approach to research and teaching has tended to be interdisciplinary. Over recent years, I have been investigating innovative applications of technology to facilitate foreign language learning. Specifically, I am interested in better understanding how the play mechanics of digital games can enhance learning outcomes in the context of cooperative interaction. I am also exploring how and to what extent learners, the key stakeholders of the educational enterprise, actually use and “buy into” new technologies applied to language learning, including generative AI.
The research that I am mainly engaged in overlaps two distinct but overlapping fields: English & American literature and ecological and environmental concerns. In particular, my research focuses on rediscovering or revisiting new modes of living for human beings, through literatures of the past, towards solving or reducing the environmental concerns that threaten our world today. My research specifically looks to the writings of the Transcendentalists and the Beat Generation writers (members of the 50s and 60s counterculture who inherited many of the ideas of the Transcendentalists) towards the goals of rethinking and redesigning a less carbon-dependent society and community for us all.
Junior Associate Professor Tajiri specializes in photography studies and social theory. His research interests include documentary photography, Marxism, Marxist feminism, and postcolonialism. He is currently writing a book, which reconsiders the documentary tradition of the US and Japan focusing on the relationship between aesthetic practices, emancipatory thought, and social movements. He has also translated Owen Hatherley’s The Ministry of Nostalgia (Verso, 2016) into Japanese (with Masashi Hoshino, Horinouchi Publishing, 2021).
I am interested in various forms of reflection for the purpose of language teacher education. Currently, I am researching the advantages of podcasting and investigating the dialogic communication and knowledge development of language teachers. I am also interested in how podcasts can be used by scientists and students to communicate, create, and learn field-based knowledge, as well as the educational ecosystem that podcasts afford. In the English language learning classroom, I like to emphasize and promote creative automaticity and output as important methods to develop effective communication in a foreign language.
Link : Turner Laboratory
My linguistic areas of interest include the creative aspects of language, for example, portmanteau, onomatopoeia, borrowed words, calques, and Japanese English, along with colloquial language, which is necessary for navigating the real world. In the classroom, I focus on the art of verbal and written expression. Reading and writing are essential habits to cultivate, and journaling is integral to my classes. In my experience, students often lack confidence because of limited opportunities for self-expression. I also have a keen interest in science and technology. From medicine to biomimicry, robotics, space exploration, and AI, it's important to have a working vocabulary and a firm grasp of how they shape our world in tangible and intangible ways. I also have extensive experience with study abroad programs and am always happy to answer questions.
Professor Shin’s message to students: “Whatever field you may enter in the future, I would like you to develop your own opinions and express them in your own words. This is not an easy thing to do. People sometimes mistake bold remarks as ‘opinions’ and regurgitate what they have heard elsewhere as their ‘ideas.’ Have you ever done this? I want to first cleanse your mind, because I believe ‘intelligence’ thus starts.”
Link : SHIN Laboratory
Professor Hiruma studies literature (mainly french), music (jazz, classical, traditional music, electronic music), and photography (as a cultural phenomenon). From specialized knowledge to a comprehensive outlook, he seeks not to lack the latter. Excited about the enhancement of liberal arts in this university of science, and also interested in media art and "art science". He loves wines. 15 years of playing a musical instrument (saxophone). Most of his holidays passing in Vietnam.
Link : HIRUMA Laboratory
Focusing on such themes as disasters and the environment, Professor Boumsoung Kim has shed light on the interactions between science and society. While knowledge and technology have brought about major changes in society, science and technology have also evolved under the influence of the socio-cultural environment. During the pandemic, an increasing number of citizens have become interested in the relationship between expertise and politics, and Professor Kim will continue to examine the meaning of science and technology in society in concert with students who will become experts in their respective fields.
Link : KIM Laboratory
Link : Researchmap
Associate Professor Kinase’s focus of study is consistently on the issues regarding cultures and identities. He has examined the experiences of the Ainu people in modern Japan from the viewpoint of historical anthropology. In recent years, following a sabbatical in Taiwan in 2017, he has been continuing his research on the social history of the performing arts mainly based on Western classical music in Japan and East Asia, by writing reviews of performances in Japan and abroad. He makes an effort to address topics that exceed the narrowly defined concept of ‘academics’ in his classes. He also tries to provide students with a higher sensitivity that enables them to find intellectual pleasure in reviewing many unnoticed things around them, as well as a rational analytic ability that allows them to see complicated human societies in a comprehensive way.
Link : KINASE Laboratory
Associate professor Matsuura's fields of study mainly focus on brief therapy and occupational mental health. Recently, he studies on practical use of brief therapy for encouraging employees and collaborating with health sector's stuffs about occupational mental health. He also studies on basic ability to work in society and career education from the perspective of human resource development and promoting of young employee's mental health. In his classes, he emphasizes fostering diverse sence of values and improving communication skills.
Link : MATSUURA Laboratory
Associate Professor Manabu Murakami invites students to the following history and dialogue of philosophy. It is a history and a dialogue in which we resist the anxieties of the times, search for the roots of those anxieties, and think about values, the mind, and the way of life. We reexamine how we think in our daily lives and ask ourselves "what is" what we believe to be important. Why dialogue? Because this kind of inquiry has been done through dialogue with other people since ancient times (over two thousand years ago).
Link : MURAKAMI Laboratory
Miki Nishikura has shed light on the interactions between our physical appearance and society or culture, mainly from the perspective of discrimination based on appearance. She has studied the social difficulties of people who have visible differences due to illness or injury, such as birthmarks or scars on their faces, by asking them to tell her about their own lives. Listening to the narratives of others who have lived lives different from her own challenges her to push the limits of her imagination about others. She would like to learn about the diversity of people and the complexity of society, which is the subject of science and technology, with students who will become specialists in the fields of science and technology.
A HISTORICAL STUDY OF THE FORMATION OF THE KOREAN- CHINESE (Chaoxianzu): 1932-1960
Li examines the political and social aspects of the origin and establishment process of the Chaoxianzu, an ethnic nationality formed by the Korean immigrants who remained in Manchuria after WWⅡ. Her research focuses on the period when contemporary nation-states were developing across East Asia and incorporates insights from modern Japanese and Chinese history. This research also is a diaspora history of minority groups placed on the periphery of East Asia.
Link : LI Laboratory
Junior Associate Professor, Ayako Funabiki specializes in the evolution of coastal geomorphology and disaster prevention of the alluvial plains in Japan and Southeast Asia. Detailed paleoenvironmental reconstruction enables us to empirically understand how the coastal environments will respond to potential global fluctuations in climate and sea level. She currently pursues the correlation between geomorphology and archaeological sites distribution in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. She also studies about millennium-scale geomorphological change and human activities in Shizukari Wetland, Hokkaido, Japan.
Link : FUNABIKI Laboratory
Specialising in cultural anthropology, Junior Associate Professor Aya UDAGAWA has studied Jews in the modern world, particularly in Argentina and Israel. Why have they remained Jewish despite their dispersed existence around the world? She has been interested in the ways in which Jews as a group perceive themselves and are perceived by others as “different”, and she has been exploring the culture in which they live. What methods do you use to find out about something, or to prejudice or imagine a group that you consider different from yourself? There are many different ways of knowing, thinking and perceiving things in the world. Together with you, I hope to discover a different way of looking at the world.
・ When asking the Japanese about their image of religious studies, many of them often describe that it is scary, mysterious, or difficult. However, encompasses various aspects of daily life such as prayers and visiting graves. Among the wide range of religious phenomena, I particularly focus on the "life of the fetus." While childbirth brings new life into the world, the inability to achieve this can lead to conflict for the people involved and the society around them. I am conducting comparative research, particularly in Japan and Taiwan, on the "mizuko kuyo," which is a ritual for mourning a deceased fetus, and the pro-life movement. In the realm of "religion," there are cultural aspects as well as clashes of various values. By examining these religious aspects, I aim to continue exploring the values of modern society.
Wataru Yasaki is a Professor of Sports Science and Practice. His research interest lies in the career transition of professional baseball players. In his sports practice classes, he emphasizes the game understanding. He urges students to understand game tactics, improve the ability of spatial cognition and person perception and to heighten the game sense, rather than to place excessive emphasis on the skills. He thinks it will enhance the comprehension and the joy of sports practice.
Link : YASAKI Laboratory
Associate Professor Nakai specializes in neurophysiology and applied health sciences. His message to students: “One of the challenges for Japan, which has a super-aging society unparalleled in the rest of the world, is to reduce the difference between the average life expectancy and a healthy life expectancy. It is, therefore, necessary to understand the importance of health, and to learn self-management techniques, such as inculcating proper dietary habits, doing moderate exercise, and resting properly, from a young age. In my class, students can expect to acquire health-related knowledge, improve their communication abilities, and engage in basic exercise and habits to improve their overall health during the practical component of the course.”
Link : NAKAI Laboratory
Our research focuses on two topics: sports and sleep. We are interested in how athletes should sleep during training and in daily life in order to perform at their best in competitions without injuries or disabilities. We also study insomnia, which is a problem for many people in Japan, and propose exercise therapies that contribute to its prevention and improvement. Sleep is a circadian rhythm that is called the sleep-wake rhythm, and it must always be considered in conjunction with behaviors while awake. Be physically active during the day and get plenty of sleep at night. This may seem obvious, but we believe that this balanced lifestyle is the basis of good health.