Program Overview

Program Overview

The Transnational Studies - Japan and the World program is an interdisciplinary field that explores the movement of ideas, things, people, and practices beyond national borders. It reflects on why the "nation" has a powerful grip on the human imagination and social organization, and offers approaches that follow the historical and contemporary movement of these elements.

Program Description

The program is designed to provide foundational knowledge about how to think transnationally. It begins with an initial module that introduces key concepts and approaches in transnational studies, followed by four modules that use concrete case studies centered on Japan to spotlight how the transnational can be fruitfully employed across different disciplines, from history to sustainability studies.

Program Objectives

The program aims to:

• Understand how the idea of nations structures movement and mobility in the contemporary world
• Understand how people, things, and ideas flow and circulate across borders
• Analyze these flows on the material, conceptual, and institutional levels
• Learn through four case studies how transnational analysis applies to Japan
• Employ questions from transnational studies in different disciplines from history to sustainability studies

Program Structure

The program consists of an initial module and four subsequent modules that explore transnational studies through case studies centered on Japan.

Instructors

The program is taught by:

• Michael FACIUS, Associate Professor, TOKYO COLLEGE, The University of Tokyo
• Hannah DAHLBERG-DODD, Project Assistant Professor, TOKYO COLLEGE, The University of Tokyo
• HANEDA Masashi, Project Professor, TOKYO COLLEGE, The University of Tokyo
• Marcin Pawel Jarzebski, Project Assistant Professor, TOKYO COLLEGE, The University of Tokyo

Supported Language

The program is supported in English.

Fields of Study

The program falls under the categories of Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences.

Learners' Feedback

Learners have found the program to be enriching, with one student noting that it allowed them to discover tools that could enrich history, particularly the history of immigration. Another student appreciated the module on Media Studies, which resonated with their personal interests in Japanese entertainment media. A third student found the course content on the Edo Period and the sakoku narrative to be fascinating.

Program Start Date

The program started on February 28, 2022, and is ongoing.