Course Name Year Term Period Faculty / Graduate School All Instructors Credits
15651:IR18‐GE207 Introduction to Area Studies (RA) § 15652:IR-DS204 Introduction to Area Studies (RA) § 15653:RUIR-2631 Introduction to Area Studies(RA) 2023 Spring Mon4 College　Of　International　Relations MORISHITA AKIKO 2

Campus

KIC

Class Venue

KOSHINKAN　KS305

Language

English

Course Outline and Method

Area Studies aims to comprehensively understand particular geographical areas. It includes, for example, Kyoto studies, Japan studies, and East Asian studies. Area Studies seeks to know local perspectives and distinctive features of society, culture, politics, economy, and/or nature of the area. It is an interdisciplinary field of research, which crosses several major academic disciplines such as cultural anthropology, history, political science, economics, literature, geography, and ecology.

The course explores the history of Area Studies and its approach and academic achievements. It will focus on African studies and Southeast Asian studies as case studies. The course includes lectures, discussions, and reading assignments.

Student Attainment Objectives

1. The students will be able to identify the characteristics of Area Studies and its relationship to other disciplines.
2. The students will be able to explain how Area Studies emerged and developed in the latter half of the 20th century.
3. The students will be able to explain how Area Studies explores local and global issues in the contemporary world.

Recommended Preparatory Course

Course Schedule

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

Introduction

Class objectives, how classes will proceed, and how grades are assigned

2-3

What is Area Studies?

What is "Area" in Area Studies?
What is Area Studies?
Why is it important to learn Area Studies?
Relationship between Area Studies and other academic disciplines
The emergence and development of Area Studies

4-9

Area Studies' approach to Africa
[Case Study 1] The impact of HIV/AIDS in Zambia
[Case Study 2] Violent conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo
[Case Study 3] LGBTQ+ in Senegal

The 4th, 6th, and 8th classes will be lectures.
The 5th, 7th, and 9th classes will be group discussions.
The students will be given a reading assignment for each group discussion.

10-13

Area Studies' approach to Southeast Asia
[Case Study 4] 'Power' in pre-colonial Java
[Case Study 5] Chinese women 'ethnopreneurs' in Thailand and Malaysia

The 10th and 12th classes will be lectures.
The 11th and 13th classes will be group discussions.
The students will be given a reading assignment for each group discussion.

14

Group discussion: Area Studies' approach to research on local/global issues

Students will discuss the Area Studies approach to research on local/global issues, based on the previous lectures, group discussions, and reading materials.

15

Course wrap-up

Themes we learned, Articles we read, and Topics we discussed

Class Format

BCP停止の場合は、BCPレベル0～2の記載どおりに授業が行われます。
During the suspension period of BCP, classes will be as described in BCP levels 0-2.

The class Format for each class will be announced on manaba+R’s course news. Also, the class format for the first class will be notified on manaba+R’s course news before the first class(*).
For “Special Consideration”, please check manaba+R’s College of IR Student Page and the “Study Support Site”.

College of IR Student Page：https://ct.ritsumei.ac.jp/ct/course_1728150
Study Support Site：https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/pathways-future/eng/

(*)To check the class format for the first class of the course, you will need to apply for the “early use request function.” Refer to the Registration Guidebook AY 2023 for details. Please be careful that applying for the early use request does not sign you up for the course. You will need to register for courses during the designated period separately.

Recommendations for Private Study

A quiz will be given at the end of lecture (the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th lectures) through Manaba+R ("Tests" or "Surveys") to check the students’ understanding of the lecture content.

Students will be given a reading material (i.e. an academic article of Area Studies) and questions for discussion every two weeks (the 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, and 13th lectures). Students are required to read the material and give their answer to the discussion questions to Manaba+R ("Surveys") by the given due date. Group discussions the following week will be based on the students' submitted answers.

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

(1) Class participation 40%
- Be on time. If you are considered late by the instructor, you will be marked absent.
- Five unjustified absences will result in failure of the course.
- No non-work chat
- Active participation in group discussions is required.

(2) Quiz 20%
- For the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th lectures, a quiz will be given at the end of the class through Manaba+R to check the students’ understanding of the lecture content.
- Students are required to provide correct answers to the quiz by the given due date for good scores.

(3) Reading Assignments 35%
- After the 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, and 13th lectures, an academic article and discussion questions based on the article will be given.
- Students are required to read the article and give their own answers to the questions through manaba+R by the given due date.
- Students who fail to submit the assignments 4 times or more will receive F grade.
- Students who commit plagiarism (*) will receive F grade.

(*) Plagiarism in this course includes: (a) Direct quotation without a citation and quotation marks [“ ”]; (b) Indirect quotation without a citation using a source other than the assigned article; (c) Copying of another student's answers; and (d) Using of ChatGPT and other similar AI tools.

(4) Participation in Discussion 5%
- In the 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th, and 14th classes, students will have group discussions, based on the reading assignment and their submitted answers.
- Students are required to actively participate in group discussions.
- Students who do not share any opinion during the discussion will be regarded as absent.

Grade Evaluation Method （Note）

Advice to Students on Study and Research Methods

This course requires the students to read five academic articles of Area Studies. Discussion questions based on the articles will be also given.

The students are also required to actively participate in group discussions.

Textbooks

Textbooks （Frequency of Use, Note）

Reference Books

Title Author Publisher ISBN Code Comment
The Politics of Knowledge: Area Studies and the Disciplines David Szanton University of California Press 9780520245365

Reference Books （Frequency of Use, Note）

The book can be downloaded from: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/59n2d2n1

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

【科目ナンバリング・カリキュラムマップはこちらから/Click here to see the Curriculum-Map and Course-Numbering】
URL:https://secure.ritsumei.ac.jp/students/pathways-future/course/curriculum.html/