2021 Faculty Courses School of Environment and Society Department of Social and Human Sciences Graduate major in Social and Human Sciences
Graduate Lecture in Politics, Law and Administration S1B
- Academic unit or major
- Graduate major in Social and Human Sciences
- Instructor(s)
- Akira Watanabe
- Class Format
- Lecture
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 3-4 Mon
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- SHS.P442
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2021
- Offered quarter
- 2Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 10, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
The instructor will ask students to read papers he has written (mostly in Japanese, but some papers written in English might be assigned, too) in the course of his academic career, and will try to provoke students to think about how to conduct research, and encourage/stimulate them (I should rather say, you!) in their progress as a researcher.
Course description and aims
The instructor ask students to understand what he has studied in his career, and to make certain progress in their own research.
Keywords
Latin American Studies, Political Science, Migration Studies, Fieldwork and Language
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
In the 2nd, 4th and 6th class, we will discuss my own papers; in the 3rd, 5th, and 7th class, we will either discuss about the topics we studied in the previous class (A), or about the research by the students (B). As for the 3rd, 5th, and 7th class, I would like to ask students about their preference (either A or B).
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Orientation | To get to know each other and to understand instructor's plan. |
| Class 2 | Democratization in Mexico | To read instructor's papers about elections and democratization in Mexico |
| Class 3 | Democracy, democratization and politics | To deepen the discussion about democracy and/or democratization. |
| Class 4 | Mexican migration to the United States | To read instructor's papers about Mexican and Latin American migration to the United States |
| Class 5 | Migration | To deepen the discussion about migration. |
| Class 6 | Social science, area studies, and literature | I have also written some essays about literature, which are well out of my field. Let's discuss about the meaning of intellectual activity "outside our fields". |
| Class 7 | What is research, after all? | Students will be asked to give a small talk about what they have learnt from the course. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
You have to read assigned papers and write a "memo" to attend the class. Other requirements may well be assigned in class.
Textbook(s)
No textbook is assigned.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
My papers are available at the following website: https://researchmap.jp/akira_watanabe
Evaluation methods and criteria
Attendance(50%), Term paper (50%)
Related courses
- SHS.P441 ： Graduate Lecture in Politics, Law and Administration S1A
- SHS.P462 ： Graduate Methodologies in Politics, Law and Administration F1
- SHS.P461 ： Graduate Methodologies in Politics, Law and Administration S1
- SHS.P443 ： Graduate Lecture in Politics, Law and Administration F1A
- SHS.P444 ： Graduate Lecture in Politics, Law and Administration F1B
Prerequisites
None
Other
I am really looking forward to teaching this course, my first ever graduate course apart from the Spanish course I taught in 2020. And this is the first ever graduate course about Latin American studies in the Tokyo Tech. Let me also say that I will try to learn from all of you!