This course offers an introduction to research methods in political science for students interested in qualitative approaches. It consists of a theoretical part and of an “illustration” part. In the theoretical part, the teacher will introduce research in social sciences, looking at the major paradigms of social research, the main investigative approaches (quantitative and qualitative) and the methods and techniques for qualitative research, to which the course is dedicated.
To illustrate the characteristics of the various methods, the course will then use practical examples taken from works of political scientists (mostly publications dedicated to China). In this way students will not only have the chance to familiarize themselves with various research methods, but also to enrich their knowledge on studies dedicated to China’s political and administrative phenomena. The course is open to all IN-EAST students and students in political science. Practical issues concerning the conduction of research in China (accessibility, language, reliability of information...) will also be addressed. There are no specific requirements for this course, except being able to understand English and write in English and course attendance. Although not compulsory, participation in the course allows the students to better grasp the proposed contents and interact with the teacher.
- Lehrende(r): Giulia Romano
This is the second part of the MA CEAS Module AEAS1 Institutions and Organizations in Japan, focussing on developing research about migration in Japan.
- Lehrende(r): Aimi Muranaka
- Lehrende(r): Karen Shire
The topic of the module Social Structure/Social Content Analysis in the Winter Term 2020/2021 is gender inequalities in Japan. The course takes a macro-sociological and institutional approach to understanding how Japanese institutions and organizations are gendered, with systematic disadvantages accruing to women, but also to men who wish to lead non-heteronormative life courses. The course begins with an historical analysis of what we will call the “conservative gender regime” in Japan, and how this transformed from an authoritarian to a democratic form from the Meiji reforms of the late 1800s through the high growth period in the 1960s. The emphasis thereafter is the transformation from a “domestic-conservative” to a “public-conservative” gender regime. The contemporary era is the main focus of the course. In this context we will consider Japanese feminist movements and gender-reactionary politics, especially those motivated by demographic and economic crises in Japan. One part of the module taught by Karen Shire will focus on theory and research on gender transformations in the social sciences internationally and in Japanese sociology. The second part of the module taught by Aimi Muranaka will focus on sources and the development of student research papers, which will focus on some dimension of gender transformations in Japan. Some course meetings will be scheduled together (student presentations of their paper topics, for example). The course requirement, a research paper of 15 pages, can be mobilized to prepare an expose for an MA thesis. The course is also open to doctoral students in East Asian Studies or in Comparative Sociology. Students interested in the course are invited to read the open access article: Shire, Karen and Nemoto, Kumiko. (2020). The Origins and Transformation of Conservative Gender Regimes in Germany and Japan. Social Politics, 27(3), 432-448. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxaa017 for a brief overview of the topic.
- Lehrende(r): Karen Shire
The topic of the module Social Structure/Social Content Analysis in the Winter Term 2020/2021 is gender inequalities in Japan. The course takes a macro-sociological and institutional approach to understanding how Japanese institutions and organizations are gendered, with systematic disadvantages accruing to women, but also to men who wish to lead non-heteronormative life courses. The course begins with an historical analysis of what we will call the “conservative gender regime” in Japan, and how this transformed from an authoritarian to a democratic form from the Meiji reforms of the late 1800s through the high growth period in the 1960s. The emphasis thereafter is the transformation from a “domestic-conservative” to a “public-conservative” gender regime. The contemporary era is the main focus of the course. In this context we will consider Japanese feminist movements and gender-reactionary politics, especially those motivated by demographic and economic crises in Japan. One part of the module taught by Karen Shire will focus on theory and research on gender transformations in the social sciences internationally and in Japanese sociology. The second part of the module taught by Aimi Muranaka will focus on sources and the development of student research papers, which will focus on some dimension of gender transformations in Japan. Some course meetings will be scheduled together (student presentations of their paper topics, for example). The course requirement, a research paper of 15 pages, can be mobilized to prepare an expose for an MA thesis. The course is also open to doctoral students in East Asian Studies or in Comparative Sociology. Students interested in the course are invited to read the open access article: Shire, Karen and Nemoto, Kumiko. (2020). The Origins and Transformation of Conservative Gender Regimes in Germany and Japan. Social Politics, 27(3), 432-448. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxaa017 for a brief overview of the topic.The module is taught online/digitally.
- Lehrende(r): Aimi Muranaka
- Lehrende(r): Karen Shire
The seminar focuses on the post-reform period and is organized around the theme of consumption. Consumption is often dealt with in the economic sense, as the other side of production and a portion of GDP. Our interest in this term and its application to Chinese society concerns its sociological meaning, which relates to the use and using up of things (Warde 2005). This approach provides both a thematic guide and a theoretical angle with which to examine key developments in contemporary Chinese society as well as the social practices and institutions therein. The course’s topics include the coalescence of the urban middle-class, the education system and its reforms, food security, user technology (such as WeChat), tourism, ethnicity, and gender. Pairing these topics with an overarching conceptual framework is intended to help prepare students to develop their M.A. thesis on sociological topics relating to China and East Asia. The main course material consists of recent readings in English by renowned Chinese and non-Chinese social scientists.
- Lehrende(r): Connor Malloy
The course provides a cross-regional context for understanding the East Asian region since the post-WWII settlement.
The aim is to understand the historical trajectories that shaped the region and its constituent parts, China (Chinese Mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau), Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, Japan and Mongolia. The lectures address the legacy of regional divisions and conflicts during the Cold War, the Chinese transition economy, the emergence of the "post-Communist" world order, as well as dynamics promoting and/or counteracting regional integration. We will look at main developments, factors and players from synthesizing, cross-boundary and cross-disciplinary perspectives. By completion of the course. students should have acquired skills in analyzing, synthesizing and debating specific events and phenomena in the context of cross-cutting trends in East Asia.
- Lehrende(r): Flemming Christiansen
- Lehrende(r): Yuka Ando
- Lehrende(r): Miwa Sakai-Severin
- Lehrende(r): Miwa Sakai-Severin
- Lehrende(r): Ryusuke Takai