The Media and Communication Seminar is a practical study of the processes of investigation, analysis, and substantiation of various different forms of media. Students consider theories for analyzing media text and study analytical methods. After learning theories and methodologies, students work in groups to analyze media texts such as TV commercials, images, and news reports. Classes are taken by a number of lecturers, each of whom contributes their particular expertise, thereby allowing students to absorb a plurality of approaches to the media. Students acquire the ability to identify insights into the political, social, and cultural roles of the media, and learn how to interpret media texts by sourcing, organizing, and analyzing materials for discussion. The Media and Communication seminar also teaches students how to address challenges and collaborate constructively with others.

This course provides students with a basic grounding in information law in the context of the information society. Students learn about laws on personal information protection and Internet regulations; legal frameworks applicable to AI, personal rights, and e-commerce; and surveillance in society. Students examine case studies associated with digitization to understand the theoretical and practical implications. The laws, policies, and social issues covered in this course are not limited to those of Japan, but extend to Europe, the United States, China, and many other countries. In Information and the Law, students use the knowledge they acquire to address a wide range of social issues, for example, identifying solutions to social issues from a legal perspective and analyzing a given issue from multiple perspectives. An understanding of the laws governing information, which is such an important part of modern life, equips students with the knowledge and judgment necessary to stay protected in the information society.

This course teaches key concepts and methodologies for both quantitative and qualitative social research. Students engage in practical exercises that involve preparing a research program, collecting, processing analyzing data, and discussing their findings. In the quantitative research part of the course, students work in groups to design a questionnaire and conduct an on-campus survey. Questionnaire surveys may seem straightforward but there are strict rules about how the questions and response options are presented to subjects, which students learn through this practical exercise. In the qualitative research part of the course, students are taught about interview etiquette and ethical considerations and learn how to make an interview guide, then work on their own conducting interviews and analyzing the results. In this way, students learn how to use quantitative and qualitative data and identify the key characteristics of each data type. This approach equips students to consider how contemporary society is based on data, how data for social research is generated, and the limitations of the data. These constitute the foundations of social research in a variety of fields. Upon completing this course, students will be fully equipped to conduct field research.