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 2014年12月3日、故西川長夫先生（立命館大学国際関係学部名誉教授）の追悼記念講演会が開かれました。講師は本学部の卒業生でもある杉浦清文先生（中京大学）で、「西川長夫先生と〈私〉――国際関係のなかの〈文化〉とは」というタイトルで、西川先生との思い出を皮切りに、西川先生の『新・植民地主義論』から多大な影響を受けたというポストコロニアル研究について熱く語って下さいました。「ポストコロニアル」とは単純な「植民地後」という意味ではなく、植民地とされていた国、地域が、独立後も植民地主義的な支配（政治的、経済的な支配だけでなく、文化・心性にかかわる領域まで）の元に置かれ続けている状況を指すこと、そして現在、その「支配／被支配」の関係が、グローバル化の名のもとに「隠蔽されながら」さらに強化されていることが、カリブ海（世界で最初に西洋の植民地支配下に置かれた場所）の島々の事例や映像などを元に説明され、学生たちは真剣に聞き入っていました。最後に君島東彦副学部長が「ポストコロニアル研究の視点は、国際関係学部のどのプログラムにおいても非常に重要である」という言葉で締めくくられました。

西川長夫先生のご業績・最終講義「フランスの解体？―もうひとつの国民国家論」はこちらでごらんいただけます。

https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/acd/cg/ir/college/bulletin/vol12-j.html#no.3（立命館国際研究「西川長夫教授退職記念論集」）

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.

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.

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. 

11月15日(土)ハノイ、16日(日)にホーチミンにて開催される日本留学フェアに立命館大学国際関係学部・研究科も参加いたします。是非ともご来場ください。

イベントについての詳細は下記のリンクを参照してください。

http://www.jasso.go.jp/study_j/info_fair_vietnam_2014.html

ハノイ：Melia Hanoi Hotel

(44B Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hanoi, Vietnam)

ホーチミン：Hotel Equatorial

(242 Tran Binh Trong, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)