Taro Nakamura
Professor, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University
Areas of Specialization: Robotics and Mechatronics, Mechanical Systems, Intelligent Mechanics
The Faculty of Letters, established in 1951, offers a wide range of programs in the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, including 13 different departments: Japanese Literature, English Studies, German Studies, French Studies, Chinese Language and Culture, Japanese History, Asian and African History, European and American History, Philosophy, Sociology, Socio Informatics, Education, and Psychology.
The Faculty aims to cultivate students with an understanding of human beings and society along with the skills to continue learning throughout their lives in a society where we must all face a broad range of challenges. Students at the Faculty are provided with various learning opportunities to explore “what humans and society are, and how they should relate to one another as well as how students can integrate themselves within such an intricate society.” Our educational goals are to nurture students’ capacity for insight, broaden their perspectives, and enhance their communication skills, and thus to enrich their minds.
Due to our broad-ranging and flexible curricula, students can choose their own combination of courses from among more than 600, including literature, history, philosophy, pedagogy, psychology, sociology, communication, and many more. They also take courses in subjects ranging from classical literature to present-day areas such as career design. Students can make the most of small-group classes and seminars where they exchange views and participate in discussion. Moreover, students can take advantage of major-specific library collections with plenty of materials, and consult with members of the academic staff regarding their research specialties.
On October 28th 2011, the Faculty of Letters organized its first social event for international students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs in the Faculty.
Fifty international students, including degree-seeking students, exchange students, graduate students and research students, joined the event and enjoyed talking with members of the academic and administrative staff of the Faculty. While international students shared frank stories about their lives in Japan in general and their lives at Chuo in particular, several professors introduced courses that may be of interest to international students and encouraged them to join in and exchange views with Japanese students.
The Faculty of Letters is pleased to take this occasion to promote interaction between faculty and students, and to further opportunities for networking events for both international and Japanese students.
Chuo University celebrated the 125th anniversary of its foundation in 2010. The Faculty of Letters has commemorated the occasion by holding an exhibition of masterpieces from the Hiraki Ukiyo-e Museum’s collection. This is a world-renowned collection that includes many important cultural assets of Japan. For this event we placed on exhibit a special selection of rarely seen ukiyo-e masterpieces that are among the pride of Japan. We also held an international symposium entitled “What was Ukiyo-e? On the Cultural History of Ukiyo-e,” which included panelists from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. In numbers far exceeding expectations, visitors to the exhibition and participants at the symposium clearly recognized the significance of these traditional assets. The Faculty of Letters hopes to continue to find opportunities in the future to disseminate information about examples of traditional Japanese heritage throughout the world.
Welcome to the Faculty of Letters. Our Faculty has 13 different departments and offers broad-ranging and flexible curricula in the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences. We encourage students to deepen their research on the basis of human intellectual heritage, nurture their capacity for insight and broaden their perspectives. Our Faculty also aims to enlarge opportunities for promoting interaction between Japanese students and international students, and in so doing enhance their communication skills and cultivate both an international intellect and the skills to tackle a broad range of challenges in this ever-changing world.
Takeshi USAMI Dean, Faculty of Letters