• Comparative Development Studies (2013 Autumn)
• Economic Development in Asia (2013 Autumn)
• Field Research in Thailand (2013 Summer)
• Field Research in Japan B (2013 Spring)
• Comparative Development Studies (2012 Autumn)
• Field Research in Japan A (2012 Autumn)
• Comparative Industry Policy (2012 Autumn)
• Field Research in Japan A (2011 Autumn)
• Comparative Industry Policy (2011 Autumn)
• Field Research in Japan B (2011 Spring)
• Comparative Industry Policy (2010 Autumn)
• Field Research in Japan A (2010 Autumn)

This course will provide students with an overview of the last several decades of theoretical development in Development Studies leading up to, and including, a review of the concept of Sustainable Development. Students will be encouraged to apply the theoretical material they master in this course to their own research interests. This course is designed for any and all students with an interest in cross-national and international development, including students in the international graduate program "East Asia International Human Resource Development". The primary language of instruction will be English, although Japanese could also be used during the class if necessary.

This course consists of three different, but mutually intersecting sessions. The first "one-week" session (Prof. Jussaume) consists of two primary parts. In the first part of the course, students will review the main theoretical traditions of development sociology, specifically modernization theory, dependency theory, and world systems theory. As part of this review, students will also review some of the main empirical examples used to debate these theories, such as the comparative development of Latin American and East Asian societies. In the second part of the course, the students will review the concept of sustainable development, with special emphasis on how that concept is a product of previous research in the Development Sociology tradition. Special emphasis will be given to the holistic and integrated nature of the concept of sustainable development. At the end of this part of the course, students will be required to apply the concepts they have learned to their own empirical interests and to share these with other class participants. The second (Dr. Mert) and third session (Dr. Solyman) are "one-day" interactive lectures on theoretical and empirical analyses of sustainable development, with a focus on environmental governance (esp. of climate change and biodiversity issues) and food security and agrarian development (esp. in Egypt) respectively.

• First Session: February 6: 13:30-17:00, Dr. Aysem Mert (VU University Amsterdam: Environmental Policy)

• Third Session: February 13: 13:30-17:00, Dr. Ashraf Mahmoud Solyman (Agricultural Research Centre, AERDRI, Egypt)

• First Session: February 18-22: 9:30-12:30, Prof. Raymond Jussaume, Jr. (Michigan State University: Sociology)

The goal of the course is to help students understand better the current economic and social situation in Japan by participating in 3 field study trips to Japanese companies, government agencies and other institutions. Each of the field study trips will include a pre-trip study session and a post-trip discussion session, after which the students should submit research essays to the respective professor in charge. Though this course is obligatory for the students from the international graduate program "East Asia International Human Resource Development", other international students as well as Japanese students may also participate in the field study trips.

The schedule of the course is as follows.

• First field study trip: October 25 & November 2, Kyoto Central Wholesale Market (Kyoto) ... Prof. Hisano

• Second field study trip: November 15, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp (Hyogo)... Prof. Inaba

• Third field study trip: t.b.a., ... Prof. Kurosawa

• Forth field study trip: t.b.a., ... Dr. Tokumaru

This course is aimed to provide students with an in-depth understanding of key issues and concepts of both industrial and agricultural policy development, and help students obtain a comparative and international perspective necessary to look into the future direction of sustainable development in the East Asian region. Though this course is designed for the students from the international graduate program “East Asia International Human Resource Development”, other international students as well as Japanese students may also participate in the class so long as there are vacancies.

This course consists of two separate parts, offered on alternating weeks. The one (Part A) is study on industrial policy in major countries and competitiveness of industries, focusing on manufacuring industries given by Prof. Kurosawa. The other (Part B) is about international agricultural policy given by Prof. Hisano. The detailed schedule of the course will be given during the course orientation on October 6th.
Part A: Comparative Study on Industry Policy and Competitiveness of regions (Prof. Kurosawa)
*tentative schedule: 10/11, 10/25, 11/08, 11/29, 12/13, 1/10
Japan’s industrial policy has been considered a symbol of its “uniqueness” and has long been a focus of studies on the Japanese economy. Today, however, there is a need for international comparison of policies, with consideration on the major technological innovations since 1990s and the development of international division of labor of East Asian countries. In Part A, the lectures shall analyze the industrial policy and industrial competitiveness of the region from a comparative perspective, considering the characteristics of each industry.
Part B: International Agricultural Policy (Prof. Hisano)
*tentative schedule: 10/18, 11/01, 11/15, 12/06, 12/20, 1/17, 1/24or31
While uneven development between industrial and agricultural sectors is still an acute problem needing to be solved at the local, national and global levels, the sustainability of agriculture itself has also been debated and defined variously. Agricultural sustainability is not just meant to employ environmentally friendly ways of farming. It also includes dimensions of economic viability as well as social justice and equity. In this regard, highly developed, industrial modern agriculture is far from, or maybe detrimental to, sustainable, even if it incorporates environmental standards and certification schemes. In this part of the course, the participants will be first introduced into the concept of agricultural sustainability and constellation of agricultural policy issues, while learning the framework of international political economy, by which we will critically analyse the contemporary agri-food system; then discuss on how the governance of agriculture and food has been shaped and should/can be reshaped from a sustainability perspective. Documentary films concerning agricultural and food issues will also be used to help stimulate discussions.

• October 18 Introduction to International Political Economy of Agriculture and Food
  • Globalisation and Global Governance
  • Business Power in Global Governance
  • Food security, Food sovereignty, and the Right to Food
  
• November 1 Film: The World According to Monsanto (2008)
  • How regulations and science behind regulations have been manipulated and socially constructed?
  • How instrumental, structural and discursive powers have been exerted by TNCs to control science and technology, genetic resources, seed market, agricultural system, and our food, health and way of life?
  • How "law of life" has been infringed by "law of patenting life"?
  • What happen to rural communities, food security, and the environment both in the South and the North?
  
• November 15 Discussion:
  
• December 6 Film: We Feed the World (2005)
  • The modern farming system is broken
  • Production cost and hidden cost of foodstuff
  • The human toil of farm subsidies
  • Starvation, soy and the Amazon
  • Starvation amidst plenty
  • Concentrated animal feeding operation
  • Giant food corporations
  • Corporate social responsibility
  
• December 20 Discussion:
  
• January 17 Film:
  • Black Gold (2006) --- A story about Fairtrade coffee and Ethiopian coffee farmers
  • The Bitter Taste of Tea (2008) --- A story about Fairtrade tea and tea estate/farm workers in Sri Lanka and Kenya
  
• January 31 Discussion:
  

The goal of the course is to help students understand better the current economic and social situation in Japan by participating in 3 field study trips to Japanese companies, government agencies and other institutions. Each of the field study trips will include a pre-trip study session and a post-trip discussion session, after which the students should submit research essays to the respective professor in charge. Though this course is obligatory for the students from the international graduate program “East Asia International Human Resource Development”, other international students as well as Japanese students may also participate in the field study trips.

The schedule of the course is as follows.

• First field study trip: October 20 & 28, Sharp Corp. Kameyama Plant in Mie ... Prof. Ialnazov

• Second field study trip: December 1, 15 & 27, Toyota Motor Corp. Main Plant in Aichi ... Prof. Kurosawa

• Third field study trip: January 5 & 13, Kubota Corp. Sakai Plant in Osaka ... Prof. Hisano

This course consists of two separate parts, offered on alternating weeks. The one (Part A) is study on industrial policy in major countries and competitiveness of industries, focusing on manufacuring industries given by Prof. Kurosawa. The other (Part B) is about international agricultural policy given by Prof. Hisano. The detailed schedule of the course will be given during the course orientation on October 6th.

Part B: International Agricultural Policy (Prof. Hisano)

• October 6 Introduction to International Political Economy of Agriculture and Food
  • Globalisation and Global Governance
  • Business Power in Global Governance
  • Food security, Food sovereignty, and the Right to Food
  
• October 20 Film: The World According to Monsanto (released in 2008, 109 min.)
  • Politics on GMOs: how GMOs have been developed, assessed and commercialised with what consequences
  • Problems with commercialisation of science, and corporate influence on agenda-setting and rule-setting processes
  
• November 10 Discussion: The World According to Monsanto
  • Discussion based on short essays submitted beforehand by participants
  
• December 1 Film: Food, Inc. (released in 2008, 93 min.)
  • America's industrialized food system now controlled by a handful of corporations and its effect on the environment, economy, consumers' health and workers' rights
  • Problems with U.S. agriculture and food policy
  
• December 15 Discussion: Food, Inc.
  • Discussion based on short essays submitted beforehand by participants
  
• January 5 Film:
  •
  •
  
• January 19 Discussion:
  • Discussion based on short essays submitted beforehand by participants
  

The schedule of the course is as follows.

• Week 1: course orientation via email

• Weeks 2-4 (April/May): first field study trip (t.b.a.) ... Prof. Ialnazov

• Weeks 5-7 (May): second field study trip (t.b.a.) ... Prof. Shioji

• Weeks 8-10 (June): third field study trip (t.b.a.) ... Prof. Kurosawa

• Weeks 11-13 (June/July): forth field study trip (t.b.a.) ... Prof. Hisano
  • June 30: Conflicts over Plant Genetic Resources: From Global to Local Context
  • July 2: Field study trip to Kiyosumi-no-Sato Awa (Nara)
  • July 7: Post-Field Trip Discussion: Local Resources and Community Business

The schedule of the course is as follows.

• Week 1: course orientation via email

• Weeks 2-5 (October): first field study trip (Ezaki Glico Co.Ltd; Co-op Kobe) ... Prof. Inaba

• Weeks 6-9 (November): second field study trip (Kyoto City Wholesale Market, Ohara Satonoeki Farmers Market)
  • November 18: Japanese Agriculture and Wholesale Market System
  • November 24: Field study trip to Kyoto City Wholesale Market
  • December 2: Various Forms of Rural Local Initiatives in Japan
  • December 5: Field study trip to Ohara Satonoeki Farmers Market

• Weeks 10-13 (December): third field study trip (to be confirmed) ... Prof. Kurosawa

• Weeks 14-15: summary and future considerations

This course consists of two separate parts, offered on alternating weeks. The one (Part A) is about international industrial policy given by Prof. Kurosawa, and the other (Part B) is about international agricultural policy given by Associate Prof. Hisano. Note that the Part A is the same as the course of “Comparative Industry Policy B”. The detailed schedule of the course will be given during the course orientation on 1 October.
Part B: International Agricultural Policy (Prof. Hisano)

• October 8: Introduction to International Political Economy of Agriculture and Food
  • Globalisation and Global Governance
  • Business Power in Global Governance
  • Food security, Food sovereignty, and the Right to Food
  
• October 22: DVD "King Corn"
  • Corn as the core essence of American agri-food system: where they come from, how they are grown by whom on what conditions, and where they go…
  • Problems with U.S. agriculture and food policy
  
• November 5: DVD "King Corn"
  • U.S. Agricultural Policy and Food System
  • Discussion based on short essays submitted beforehand by participants
  
• November 26: DVD "The World According to Monsanto"
  • Politics on GMOs: how GMOs have been developed, assessed and commercialised with what consequences
  • Problems with commercialisation of science, and corporate influence on agenda-setting and rule-setting processes
  
• December 10: DVD "The World According to Monsanto"
  • The World According to Monsanto
  • Discussion based on short essays submitted beforehand by participants
  
• January 14: DVD "Amasoya"
  • Soybeans as one of the most consumed products: why the production has increased, how they are grown on what conditions and with what consequences (especially in Amazon)
  • Problems with how the global agri-food system has affected the regional/local society, economy and the environment