Course Name Year Term Period Faculty / Graduate School All Instructors Credits
13310:[2025 Fall]IR18‐GE207 Introduction to Area Studies (RB) § 13311:IR-DS204 Introduction to Area Studies (RB) § 13312:RUIR-2631 Introduction to Area Studies(RB) 2025 Fall Mon5 College　Of　International　Relations TAGAWA SHOHEI 2

Campus

KIC

Class Venue

KOSHINKAN　KS306

Language

英語

Course Outline and Method

Drawing insights from sociocultural anthropology, sociology, human geography, history, and other related disciplines, this course is designed to introduce perspectives with which to look into micro-level social phenomena. After a brief overview of the ways in which “areas” or “regions” have been defined and imagined, this course proposes two orientations for area studies, namely, one that takes into account the scales larger than state and/or region, and the one that focuses on areas smaller than the state. With the global-scale perspective in mind, the course will henceforth predominantly focus on micro-scale perspectives and how such views can lead to a place-based, vernacular ways of knowledge production.

The class is composed of lectures and discussions. Coursework involves reading, observing, interviewing, and writing. Active engagement in all the above-mentioned tasks is expected.
Before each class starts, students are to watch a lecture video (posted on Manaba+R) and submit an assignment.

【+R-Jugyo】
Information for “+R-Jugyo” will be posted on the “Course News” on manaba+R by September 20. Be sure to check the “Course News” on manaba+R.

Student Attainment Objectives

By the end of the course, students are expected to:
1. Become familiar with the basic concepts and topics in area studies,
2. Be able to see those concepts and/or topics as clues in interpreting and describing micro-level social phenomena.

Recommended Preparatory Course

Not applicable

Course Schedule

Lecture/Instructor（When there are multiple instructors) Theme
Keyword, References and Supplementary Information
1

How regions are made: Toward a critical imagination of “area”

Global, regional, national, local, politics, economics, colonialism

2

Society and Culture

Social structure, cultural relativism

3

Is it enough to focus on units smaller than the state?

One-country study, social structure, culture, sociality

4

Gift and reciprocity

Gift-giving, reciprocity, indebtedness

5

Between market exchange and pure gift

Currency, monetary exchange, rotated savings and credit association

6

Kinship and community

Unilineal descent group, marriage, bilateral kinship group, kindred

7

Between family and friends

Consanguinity, affinity, substance, relatedness

8

Witchcraft and spirits

Magic, religion, science, colonialism, capitalism, modernization

9

Between superstition and reality

Occult, ontology, materiality, corporeality

10

Scientific racism and coloniality

Race, nation, ethnicity, colonialism, post-colonialism

11

Between race and gender

Intersectionality, gender, sexuality, class, ability, age, feminism, coalitional identity politics

12

Urbanization and globalization

Urbanization, global city, global south, space, right to the city, postcolonial urbanism

13

Between the urban and the rural

Urban-rural relations, community, custom, commons, material environment, body technique

14

Participant observation and the production of place-based knowledge

Ethnography, participant observation, life history, local/vernacular knowledge

Class Format

On-demand lecture + class discussion

Recommendations for Private Study

By the end of the term, students are expected to submit an essay based on original observations or interviews (or other forms of primary source material). It is desirable that students conduct extensive research outside of the class.

Grade Evaluation Method

Kind Percentage Grading Criteria etc.
Final Examination (Written) 0

Report Examination
(A report to be submitted by the unified deadline)		 0

Exams and/or Reports other than those stated above, and Continuous Assessment　
(Evaluation of Everyday Performance in Class)		 100

Class participation 40%
End-term essay 60%

Final essay should include 1. Research question, 2. Literature review, and 3. Your original argument

Grade Evaluation Method （Note）

Your grade will be evaluated based on coursework participation and end-term report.
Coursework includes classroom lectures, discussions, and presentations. Students are expected to come to class prepared to actively engage in all the above-mentioned tasks.
By the end of the term, students are expected to submit an essay of about 1,000 to 1,500 words.

Advice to Students on Study and Research Methods

Students are expected to come to the class fully prepared for the in-class discussion, by watching a lecture video (posted on Manaba+R) and submitting an assignment prior to each class.

Textbooks

Textbooks （Frequency of Use, Note）

Reference Books

Reference Books （Frequency of Use, Note）

Readings and handouts will be announced and/or distributed as necessary.

Web Pages for Reference

How to Communicate with the Instructor In and Out of Class(Including Instructor Contact Information)

Learning Management System （manaba+R）,Talk with Students

Other Comments

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