TOPICS
TOPICS
[News] The Ritsumeikan University Graduation Ceremony was held
The Ritsumeikan University Graduation Ceremony was held on 21 March, 2015.
Graduates, include students from English based program "Global Studies Major"(undergraduate), "Global Cooperation Program(graduate), will soon start their new careers here in Japan and around the world.
Congratulations to all graduates!
The Research Seminar of the College of IR was held by Prof.Zsombor Rajkai
The Fourth Research Seminar of the College of International Relations in 2014 was held by Associate Professor Zsombor Rajkai on the ninth of December, at Koshinkan Room 733. The title of his presentation was “Familism and individualisation in transitional societies: Eastern Europe and socialist East Asia”. The presentation consisted of two main parts. In the first part, Professor Rajkai briefly introduced his academic activities and achievements from the 1990s up to now in two separate academic fields: history (Sino-Central Asian historical relations) and sociology (the different paths of modernisation of non-Western societies seen through family and social change).
Professor Rajkai then talked about a book he published in 2014, titled Family and social change in socialist and post-socialist societies: Change and continuity in Eastern Europe and East Asia. A detailed introduction to the contents of this book (the result of a three-year-long international research study led by Professor Rajkai himself) formed the second (major) part of his presentation. Among other things, he threw light upon the ambiguous and antagonistic co-existence of familism (strong family-centric values) and individualisation (pluralisation of individual and family lifestyles) found in these societies, seen through the change and continuity in demographic behaviour, family values, family solidarity, gender relations, state policy and marketisation. In relation to this, Professor Rajkai called for the necessity, and also outlined the possibility, of a modified second demographic transition theory, stressing that a modified theory would be more accurate in describing the current social transformation of these societies. Finally, Professor Rajkai outlined his upcoming research plan of making a typology of the diverse compressed modernities in an Eurasian context, by addressing not only (post-)socialist societies, but also capitalist non-Asian societies such as Japan, South-Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, etc.
[News] Special Lecture: "From Yalta to Malta" – a subjective Eastern Bloc perspective of the Cold War
On Tuesday 9 December Dr Nándor Papp, a visiting Professor at the College of International Relations, gave a special lecture on the topic: "From Yalta to Malta" – a subjective Eastern Bloc perspective of the Cold War.
Dr. Nándor PAPP graduated from Budapest’s ELTE University as a teacher of English and Russian. He has taught for more than 40 years at the biggest universities in the Hungarian capital, as well as abroad. From the mid 1980s, he was involved - as an interpreter - in state and government level negotiations towards Hungary’s reintegration in the West, membership of NATO, and of the European Union. Between 2008-2011, he represented his country in Kiev, Ukraine, as a senior diplomat.
Dr. Papp’s lecture guided the audience through some of the main chapters of the Hungarian "edition" of communism from the dark days of the 1950s, through the consolidation of the regime, Hungarian "goulash communism", and up to the cutting of the barbed wire between East and West and the Fall of the Berlin wall, which iconically marked the end of the bipolar world. Dr Papp detailed the major events of the era and also gave a rare insight into actual daily life inside the communist bloc during the Cold War. His role as a participant and witness to some of the closing events in the Cold War and his recollections of life as a young man and student during the 1960s and 1970s gave the audience a unique and fresh perspective on this era.
The lecture was well attended, with a lively and entertaining Q&A session and the faculty and students of the college look forward the Dr Papp's second special lecture in early 2015.
T French, Associate Professor, College of International Relations.
Special guests to Introductory Seminar from World Economic Forum (Geneva, Switzerland).
Mr. Masao Takahashi (Associate Director, Asia / Global Leadership Fellow)
Ms. Kiriko Honda (Associate Director, Japan)
We feel grateful and honored to welcome Mr. Takahashi and Ms. Honda to Introductory Seminar, freshmen’s colloquium at Global Studies Major of Faculty of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University. Students listened enthusiastically to the lecture on the mission and activities of World Economic Forum, which is committed to improving the state of the world through public-private cooperation, and essence of its multi-stakeholder approach.
The discussion centered around students’ current concerns on global agenda and topics discussed at Davos earlier this year. Questions also extended to the guests’ career paths, in which students apparently took deep interests.
GSIR Admission Guidance Session will be held! (Nov 20, 2014)
The Admission Guidance Session of the Graduate School of International Relations will be held as described below:
Date:November 20, 2014
Time:12:15-12:55
Place:Koshinkan728, Kinugasa Campus
In this session, a faculty member of the graduate school will introduce the graduate school and a staff member of the Administrative Office will explain about admissions. They will answer any of your questions such as "what can we learn at the graduate school?"
If you are interested in going on to the Graduate School of International Relations, this session will be a great opportunity. Please come and join us!
[Report] A Peace Trip to Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Students of Ritsumeikan University and American University go to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August every year since 1995. There are not only Japanese students but also international students from Ritsumeikan University who attend the peace trip. For example, there were students from China, Korea, Thailand, Bangladesh and Britain. First it is expected that students read a book called Hiroshima by John Hersey(1946) and learn what really happened on August 6 in 1945. Then they visit various places related to the book and also peace museums such as Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum,
Atomic Bomb Museum in Nagasaki, Oka Masaharu Memorial Nagasaki Peace Museum and so forth.Students learn much one another realizing that their historical perspectives are quite different. Students from the USA, China and Korea tend to be shocked to know the result of the atomic bombing because they were taught that World War II ended because of the atomic bombing. They had not learned that it was not necessary to use the atomic bombs and how much hibakusha(atomic bomb victims) suffered from the effects of the atomic bombing, especially radiation. They found that they would be the last generation who could listen to hibakusha directly because atomic bomb survivors are getting older and older.
On the other hand, Japanese students tend to be shocked to learn the result of Japan’s aggression of other nations and how much people in China, Korea and other countries had suffered during World War II when they visit Oka Masaharu Memorial Nagasaki Peace Museum where Japan’s aggression is exhibited. This is because they had not studied Japan’s aggression at school and it was not reported much in the media.
Students tend to be impressed to attend Shiroyama elementary school where many children and teachers were killed by an atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki on August 9. They began to understand why hibakushas continue to make efforts to convey their atomic bombed experiences to future generations after seeing innocent children who wish for peace.
It is indeed life changing experiences to go on the peace trip. It is a good chance to learn lessons from the past and think what students can do for the peaceful future, and also to make good friends after spending ten days together. Please join the peace trip !
Kazuyo Yamane: Vice Director of